Silent Partners
by ScorplinginTraining
Summary: Another story about what could happen following the season two finale. Walter does indeed stop Paige from going to Tahoe with Tim, but he doesn't use a confession of emotions. Instead he uses logic and a case to interfere. In other words, he badly Walters up the whole situation. 'The course of true love never did run smooth.' -Shakespeare
1. Chapter 1

**SILENT PARTNERS**

 **Chapter 1**

Richard Elia's well-appointed private jet glided smoothly over the Pacific Ocean at a cruising altitude of 41,000 feet. His planes were always well-maintained and his pilots were always exceptionally well-qualified, so nothing would ever dare disturb the tech billionaire's business travels. On this trip, however, there was an over-abundance of turbulence _inside_ the aircraft.

Four members of Team Scorpion were occupying the luxurious interior. The women sat together on one side toward the front. Paige was flipping through a magazine so violently some of the pages tore and Happy slouched in her seat and was alternately staring out the window or scowling at the floor. They would occasionally talk in low voices as if plotting the demise of the men across the aisle.

Their male counterparts were trying not to notice the tension rolling toward them in waves of scorn. Toby was nursing a prodigious hangover and pretending to sleep. Walter was feigning deep concentration on whatever was on his laptop and doing his best to hide behind the screen. Both could tell they were so deep in the doghouse it would take a bloodhound three days to find them.

The group was heading to Bali, Indonesia for a cushy and lucrative private sector job that was also a favor to Mr. Elia. One of the tycoon's close friends recently purchased a five-star hotel and resort complex on the island. Richard had fronted much of the cash for the venture himself.

The tourist retreat was located in the interior, mountainous region on the banks of the Ayung River. Gorgeous, green and lush, the area was the perfect haven for visitors to enjoy pampering, relaxation and romance. Unfortunately, it was also being used for smuggling drugs, unbeknownst to the American buyer.

The local authorities were unsuccessful at catching the perpetrators. They had plenty of suspicions, but no real evidence. Having government officials sniffing around was detracting from the ambiance and there had been two incidents of guests accidentally ingesting opium and needing medical intervention. Consequently, Elia's friend was concerned for the safety of his guests and employees. Plus, he was losing money in cancelled reservations and early check-outs not to mention the colossal hike in insurance premiums and the threat of lawsuits. He wanted to cooperate with the investigators and avoid tension with the foreign government, but the owner hoped he could hasten the conclusion of the case if he hired his own team to discreetly poke around in the resort's infrastructure.

That was where Scorpion came in.

The resort was scheduled to host a couples' seminar and retreat with a world renowned marriage counselor and best selling author. Toby was going in undercover as one of the therapists assisting the attendees with therapy and communication exercises. He would be able to profile the employees because there would be free sessions for workers and their families as a benefit of employment. Not to mention, as a guest, Toby would be staying at the hotel and he could lurk around after hours and observe the other guests and workers alike.

Happy would be posing as a maintenance tech helping with kitchen renovations and upgrading pool equipment in the private villas. She would really be installing high tech surveillance equipment around the resort that would be monitored by Sylvester back at the garage.

Walter and Paige were to assume the roll of a married couple wanting to work on their relationship. Walter would help Sylvester with monitoring the surveillance footage and he could hack into the devices of employees and regular visitors at the resort to look for suspicious activities.

About six hours into the fourteen hour flight, Toby cautiously brought his seatback into an upright position and snuck a covert glance at Happy from under the brim of his hat. To his acute relief, both women appeared to be asleep, reclining in their own spacious seats.

"Pssst," Toby hissed at Walter and jerked his chin in the girls' direction. "I think they're finally sleeping," he whispered.

"They both nodded off about eighteen minutes ago," Walter replied without looking up from his computer.

"Okay. Now you can tell me."

"Tell you? Tell you what?"

"Why our usually compassionate company liaison is keeping herself entertained by picturing you spontaneously combusting? I thought you were chasing after her to Tahoe to tell her of your undying love."

Walter shut his laptop with a snap and looked over irritably at the shrink. "Could you lower your voice? I said I was going to _stop_ her. I didn't say I was going to tell her _anything_. Don't you tell her anything either. And your assessment of Paige's thoughts is most likely inaccurate. It's impossible for you to know with any certainty what she's thinking. Besides, it looks to me like you have issues of your own. What exactly did you do to Happy? She seems pretty ' _un-Happy'_ with you right now."

"Don't try to be funny. It doesn't work for you. And I royally screwed up with my woman. I know better than to pick a fight when my blood volume is two-thirds tequila. We have some big issues to work on, but we are heading to one of the most romantic spots in the world. I'm bound to figure something out. You on the other hand, couldn't be romantic if the fate of the world depended on it. So, why don't you spill about the events of the mad dash to Tahoe? I might be able to help and it's going to be a long flight."

"Nothing happened."

"Obviously something happened. Paige is here instead of at the jazz festival even if she doesn't seem too thrilled about it," Toby said skeptically.

"We caught this case. The seminar is this week. It's the perfect cover, so it was urgent we all leave immediately. It was logical," Walter replied.

"Let me translate. You used a case that we've known about for two weeks and, up until twelve hours ago we weren't sure we wanted to take, as an excuse to make Paige come back."

"As the leader of Scorpion, I assessed the value of the case and made the decision to move forward. The money is good. And Homeland isn't involved with this one."

"In other words, you took a case that was unpopular, for Paige in particular because she would have to leave Ralph and go halfway around the world for almost a week, so you could find a way to get her _far_ away from Tim." Toby nodded knowingly.

"No. I made arrangements for Ralph. He'll be fine at the garage with Sly for a few days. They packed enough clothes to stay for a week before I picked them up. And I stocked the kitchen with provisions. I even checked to make sure he had a carpool to and from school this week using Cabe as backup. They have everything they need."

Toby raised his eyebrows, "Oh, I see. Without asking, you decided where Ralph would stay, who he would stay with and what he would need for a whole week. Overstepping boundaries much?"

"It was efficient. Paige was out of town and she wouldn't answer her phone," Walter argued.

"She wouldn't answer her phone? How did you get in touch with her to have her come back?"

"I, uh, called Tim's phone, of course."

"Of course you did. And how did that conversation go?"

"I simply explained the situation. I assured him we didn't need him to come along and told him he was welcome to attend the jazz festival like he initially planned, but that he would need to bring Paige back or let me meet them somewhere. It was the practical solution for everyone."

"Well… that certainly explains why she's been imaging your slow death for the last few hours. Walter, you'd better pay close attention at this seminar and in your sessions. You might pick up a couple of things."

 **AN: I know the 'pretending to be married for a case' scenario has been done, but hopefully this will be a bit different spin on it. I watched the spoiler video for part 1 of "Civil War" and Paige seems pretty upset. Oh, Walter. No matter what happens, he's not going to handle things very well, is he? That's why this story starts off with Paige angry.**


	2. Chapter 2

**SILENT PARTNERS**

 **Chapter 2**

Walter had been asleep since their brief stop for fuel in Tokyo, but he woke up with a start when he heard someone get up and move around the airplane's cabin. A quick look told him Toby had, at some point, moved to a seat over next to Happy's after she'd nodded off. They were both out cold, and Happy was curled toward Toby as if her subconscious had already forgiven him in her sleep. Walter didn't believe in fate or happily ever afters, but he secretly hoped those two could patch things up and make their relationship endure in spite of the obstacles they faced. And not just for the good of Scorpion. And not just because he wanted to see his friends balanced and stable. Of course he wanted both of those things too. But more than anything, it occurred to him if _they_ could work things out, if _they_ stood a chance, maybe he and Paige could eventually be together and stay together too. The alternative was too painful to contemplate and when he was honest with himself, the fear of that pain was the biggest reason he hadn't allowed himself to pursue a romantic relationship with Paige. But it was becoming more and more impossible to resist.

The seat Paige had been occupying was empty. If she was up roaming around, he recognized it might be the only opportunity he would get to speak to her uninterrupted before they reached their destination.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and made his way back to the galley area. His heart lurched and his hands felt clammy as he observed Paige helping herself to some juice out of the mini refrigerator. When he was chasing after her on Friday night, he'd only had one thought on his mind. His whole focus became stopping her from going away with Tim by any means necessary. He knew the solution he'd worked out wasn't ideal. In fact, he was well aware he'd bungled the whole situation badly on several levels. Now, his mind scrambled about trying to find the right words to say to make amends. Groveling wasn't his forte.

"Hi," was the brilliant utterance his 197 IQ was able to contrive at that moment.

Paige leaned against the counter with her arms folded. Her expression was more impatient than friendly. "Hello, Walter. Did you need something?"

At least she was speaking to him, so that was an improvement.

Indicating the seats near the galley, he asked, "Could I talk to you for a minute?...Uh, Please?"

"You can talk to me here. What is it?"

"Um, I know I might have handled some things p-poorly…"

Paige scoffed and rolled her eyes, "You think?"

Walter cringed inwardly. He acknowledged he craved Paige's approval more than anyone else's and he wanted very much to get back in her good graces, but he still had difficulty apologizing in general. He poured himself a cup of coffee he didn't want just to have something to do with his hands. "I'm, uh, s-sorry about that. But we have to find a way to work together or we won't be very convincing undercover."

"Okay. Answer this for me. What were you thinking? After encouraging me to go away for the weekend, you yanked me back three hours later for a case we never agreed to take. You were inexcusably rude to Tim then dismissed his role not only on this case but on the team all together. By rushing us all into this, you forced Happy to face Toby before she was ready. She had just asked for some time. And Toby was so drunk and upset, he handled seeing her in the worst way possible. Then you high-handedly made arrangements for my son without my knowledge or approval. I would just like to know why? What on Earth was this really about?"

"I had my reasons…"

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

"N-no. I didn't mean that the way it sounded. Good reasons! I swear. I-I just can't say… I'll apologize to Tim if you think I should."

"Can't or won't? And I definitely think you owe Tim an apology. But that's not the only point. Walter, you want me to forget everything and just go along as if none of it happened without an explanation? I'm not sure I can do that. I thought we had established an open communication policy between us."

Walter's eyes were pleading when he looked back at her. Everything inside him shied away from giving her the real reason, and he couldn't come up with any other plausible sounding excuse she wouldn't see through immediately. So, he just stood there in agonized silence.

"You know what? Forget it. I don't want to know." Paige threw her hands up and started to walk around Walter to go sit back down.

He caught her arm. "Wait," he said, pulling a box out of his pocket, "We'll need these when we land."

Inside the box were two plain platinum bands with identical markings and a matching engagement ring with a perfect square-cut diamond in the middle. "Mr. Elia loaned these to me for the case so we would appear authentic," Walter explained.

Not making eye contact, he swallowed hard before he put the larger band on his own left hand. Then he took the smaller band and the engagement ring out of the box. Holding her left hand gently, he slowly slid the rings onto her finger. He heard her breath catch and his heart was beating rapidly making him feel light headed. Symbols and tokens were mostly unimportant to him, but the significance of this gesture didn't escape him. Their eyes met briefly causing a jolt to ricochet through him. Dropping her eyes back to her ring finger, Paige hesitantly slipped her hand out of his and started to make her way back to her seat, her drink forgotten on the counter.

 **AN: Kind of a short chapter, but a quick update at least. And it ended in a good place. As always, please read/review. Your encouragement keeps me typing...**


	3. Chapter 3

**SILENT PARTNERS**

 **Chapter 3**

He was a living cliché. And he was mostly okay with that. It's not like he could help it. Toby really did enjoy watching Happy sleep. It wasn't that she was beautiful. He thought she was beautiful all the time, not just when she slept. It was that she was relaxed and vulnerable. Two things she almost never was when she was awake, so it fascinated him. Because she was so guarded normally, she was one of the few people he could never quite pinpoint. But when she was asleep, he felt like he could see the real woman beneath the armor.

Happy's eyelids fluttered open and her defenses immediately went up. "What the hell are you staring at?"

"My favorite person in the whole world," Toby said with a sad little smile.

"This is you giving me space, Doc?"

"No. This is me with something to say before I _try_ to give you the space you need."

She started to get up and move away, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm. Happy scowled at him and tried to slap his hand away.

Determined, Toby held on and said, "Just hear me out, okay?"

"Make it quick," she sighed.

"First of all, I want to apologize for the things I said when you came back to the garage last night. Day before yesterday. Hell, we've crossed the international dateline. I don't even know. Anyway, I know I was out of line. I know I don't have the right to demand answers you aren't ready to give. The only excuse I have is I was drunk and miserable and angry. Take all the time you need, but please forgive me?" He looked at her hopefully, but he only got her stony silence in return.

So he continued, but his shoulders were sagging like a leaky balloon, "I also have a question for you. Are we A) still together but pulling back slightly to work a few things out? Or, a bit tougher to take but livable B) on hiatus until we can work things out? Or, worst of all C) calling it quits? See? I didn't ask you about the thing you don't want me to ask you about. You have to know I want to be with you no matter the circumstances. So, would you mind throwing me a tiny hint here? The not knowing is killing me."

Happy shut her eyes trying to stifle her knee-jerk irritation, and then said, "I'm hovering between A and B at the moment. But I will have to let you know when I know. You gotta give me room to think, Toby."

In an atypical public gesture of affection, Happy touched the side of his face and ran her fingers through the short hair behind his ear before settling her hand on his neck and giving it a gentle squeeze. He looked at her with profound relief and she settled back into her seat. They sat side-by-side in companionable silence for a while.

Quiet was an adjective that no one would use to describe Toby, so it was only a few minutes before he said, "I'd better nose into this business with 'Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien'. Look at them. Both just wretched and sitting as far away from each other as possible in this small space. Pathetic. We'll be landing in about an hour. If I don't intervene, this case is going to be a bigger disaster than we anticipated."

"Good luck with that," Happy replied doubtfully.

Toby got to his feet and made his way over to Walter who was a few rows behind Paige staring at the back of her head with a frown of confusion and hurt on his face. The shrink wanted to strangle the truth out of his boss in front of Paige and just get it all out in the open for once. Walter had obviously been hit with a whole quiverful of Cupid's arrows and he still couldn't tell her. It was so frustrating to watch. Walter could hide behind logical rationalizations forever, but Toby knew he was really just terrified of making a connection then being abandoned. The man had no poker face. Toby just wished Paige was more of a gambler and could read it better.

"Hey, Whopper O'Brain. I need to go over a couple of things with you and the missus. Yo, Paige! I know you aren't sleeping up there. Bring it back here a minute. I gotta talk to you guys."

Shooting Toby an annoyed look over her shoulder, Paige stood up and made her way toward Walter and him. Stopping beside the shrink, she raised an eyebrow in expectation.

"Oooo! Nice rock on your finger there, Mrs. O'Brien. Surprisingly, Walter sure knows how to pick 'em. In more ways then one," Toby finished and waggled his eyebrows for affect.

The doc was amused to see Paige blush and glance down at her hand.

Walter looked down too and twisted the ring on his own left hand absently, "The rings are a loan from Richard Elia for the case. I didn't put any thought into the, uh, aethetics."

"Mm hmm. That's why you spent over forty five minutes looking over the choices his jeweler friend sent you. And I happened to overhear you ask Ralph to get her ring size. Yep. It was all just random."

Walter's eyes snapped to Toby's. "It would have been impractical to get her a ring that didn't fit. It could get lost and replacing it would have to come out of our fee. The design was just, uh, ir-irrelevant."

Toby shook his head. Yep. Logical Rationalizations. "I'll let that egregious denial go for now. We have some things to iron out. First off, you two have to start talking. Yes, married people can sometimes have interpersonal communication issues, but no one would believe you guys are attending a seminar to reconnect if you can't even stand to sit together on a plane. Spend some time and talk this out or everyone is going to think you actually want to connect to a divorce attorney instead."

"That's the first item of business and I will leave you to deal with it in a minute," he went on when the pair in question didn't answer, "But there are a couple of other suggestions I have for you. You already know to stick as close to the truth as possible. That's standard Undercover 101. But if your private couples' counselor is any good, and from what I've read, the ones at this conference are supposed to be excellent, he or she will know right away if you aren't being honest. I think you should talk about real issues in your sessions."

Paige actually glanced up at that and narrowed her eyes looking interested.

But Walter sneered at Toby, "Alright, Know-It-All, like what? We aren't a real couple, remember?"

"Well, yes that's probably the biggest problem, but I was thinking more along the lines of…" Toby adopted a falsetto female voice, imitating Paige, "He's a workaholic and doesn't have time for me. He won't open up and tell me how he feels. I have a son by a previous relationship and he oversteps his authority with him sometimes…" Dropping the affected voice, he added, "Like that."

Walter looked insulted. "Why should we suggest everything is my fault?"

"Gee, I don't know, Walt. I'm sure there's an idiom somewhere about shoes and who should wear them if they fit. Besides, one of your biggest issues is the fact you won't discuss things, remember?"

Paige let a soft giggle out before covering it with a cough. Walter glared at them both.

"Now, I'm going back and sit as close to Happy as she will allow. You two need to find a way to work together. Pronto. The plane is already starting its decent."

As Toby walked away, Paige tentatively sat on the edge of a seat next to Walter's. Neither spoke for a few seconds.

Paige was the first to say something, "He's right, you know. We need to bury the hatchet."

Walter watched her from the corner of his eye warily. "As long as you don't want to bury that hatchet in my head."

They looked at each other and grinned.

"Don't tempt me. I'm sorry I didn't accept your apology when it was offered. I still think you should apologize to Tim. And I'm still a little aggravated about you arranging things for Ralph without asking, but I do know you meant well. _And_ I would still like to know the truth about everything else, but I guess I can compromise and wait _if_ you promise to tell me at some point. I sometimes get so tired of trying to pry things out of you."

"I promise. And Paige? D-don't stop, uh, trying...okay?"

 **AN: Wow! I didn't mean to leave them on an airplane for the first 3 chapters. It just kinda worked out that way. Next stop is gorgeous Bali. It is _so_ beautiful there. I hope I can describe it adequately.**

 **I loved all the reviews about the frustration and tension. They made me giggle. It means you're picking up what I'm laying down. The whole point of this story is to show the frustration not only of people who love someone who can't or won't express themselves, but how frustrating it is to be someone who desperately wants to be understood, but has a hard time opening up and saying things. Hence the title. I love word play. A lot of people say they wonder how Paige can put up with Walter. I hurt for him. He really wants to connect, but he's terrified and he doesn't understand feelings very well. Every time he reaches out, it's a little miracle. I almost had a heart attack when he touched Paige's hand the first time. It's incredibly hard for someone like him.**

 **The sexual tension is only going to get worse btw. You have been warned. ;-D**


	4. Chapter 4

**SILENT PARTNERS**

 **Chapter 4**

When she stepped out of the airplane, Paige was instantly charmed by the island environment. The air was warm and moist and smelled of sandalwood and spices. Colorful little bamboo offering baskets filled with incense, flowers or fruit graced each airport entrance. The distant mountains were verdant and thick with palm trees and flowering plants. Ferns sprouted from crevices in the black volcanic rock and waterfalls periodically made flowing white ribbons through the green of the vegetation.

The flight crew would handle Paige and Walter's baggage, but the two of them still had to enter the terminal and clear customs. The pseudo-married couple would be met by a limo and driver outside of customs.

Toby and Happy had to break off alone and go their own direction. A van would meet them and take them to the resort from another location at the airport. The four of them decided they would get to the hotel and settle in before reconnecting for dinner and a planning/status meeting.

The sleek car glided away from the Ngurah Rai airport and through the busy streets of Kuta on its way to Ubud. Aside from a few trucks, their car was the largest vehicle on the road. All the locals seemed to prefer mopeds and zipped along sometimes with three or even four people on the same bike and often loaded down with groceries, laundry or other supplies as well. Paige spent the hour long drive with her nose pressed to the window taking it all in. Walter spent it with his gaze locked on his computer.

She was glad the two of them had reached a compromise of sorts before they arrived. No one would argue that Paige didn't have a temper, but it was usually short-lived and she disliked holding grudges. Plus, if she was being completely honest, she had to admit part of the reason she had been so angry was because, on some level, she had felt relieved when Walter had called her back in for this case. And that made her feel guilty. She wasn't trying to lead Tim on. Paige really did like the guy, but she had been nervous about their weekend from the beginning. It just didn't feel right. Not when she still had loads of unresolved feelings for Walter.

For some reason, the glorious surroundings and the glittering ring on her finger were making her feel like she and Walter might be on the cusp of _something_ , like anything might be possible. She kept toying with the unfamiliar weight on her hand and the sparkle of the gem kept catching her eye like it was winking at her.

Paige noticed Walter kept looking at and touching the ring on his finger too as if he wanted to make sure it didn't disappear. But that was a fanciful notion. Walter O'Brien could never be accused of having flights of fancy. Likely he merely didn't want to lose it and have to shell out the capital required to replace the expensive set.

The limo came to a stop at the entrance to the resort's lobby and the driver helped them get their suitcases inside. The lobby was open air with a thatched roof and a marble floor but no walls. The stone and wood of the support beams was beautifully carved with life-like animals and birds. Soft, fluting music played in the background and was accompanied by the sound of bubbling water from fountains in the lily pad-dotted koi ponds beside the front desk. Paige was delighted by everything. Walter was oblivious, of course, as he got them checked in.

A bellman led them to their accommodations. Paige gasped when she saw where they would be staying. It was enchanting and embarrassingly romantic, more suited for a honeymoon than a dangerous mission. The resort was built on the side of a mountain over looking the river. The owner put them in a villa for the purpose of privacy during the case. It had its own courtyard and an intricately carved wooden double door. In the Hindu tradition, offerings and incense were left outside the door, giving the air the now familiar spicy fragrance. Inside the main room, there was an enormous bed with diaphanous netting draping down from the ceiling and gathered at the corners. The wall opposite the foot of the bed was all glass with a breathtaking view of the small, kidney-shaped infinity pool and deck just outside the sliding door and the adjacent mountain and river valley beyond that. A quick peek in the bathroom revealed a colossal heart-shaped Jacuzzi bathtub with locally made toiletries and candles scattered on the ledge. On the other side of the villa was a sunken living room with another glass wall toward the view and a couch covered in plump, colorful pillows.

Paige glanced sideways at Walter. His usual button-down shirt was rumpled from the long flight and he looked a bit tired with a twenty-four hour growth of stubble on his face. Even so, he was undeniably appealing as he arranged their suitcases on the luggage racks and tipped the bellman. She felt her breath catch and a pleasant but alarming swooping sensation in the pit of her stomach, as vivid daydreams played through her imagination of what she wished she could to do with him in every room of that villa. Including the pool… She usually didn't let herself indulge in those types of fantasies about him, especially since he'd decided to date other women. But something about the surroundings and their pretend marriage made the whole pent up store of them flood into her mind in a deluge of increasingly erotic images. Definitely inappropriate, but oh, _so_ delicious. She noticed it was getting uncomfortably warm in the room, and averted her gaze. Time for a shower. Preferably ice cold.

She cleared her throat and said, "Unless you want to go first, I think I'll shower and change before Happy and Toby come by."

Walter was leaning against the glass doors and his eyes met hers briefly before he abruptly looked down at his shoes, "No. Uh, no. That's-that's fine. I need to work on setting up the cyber noose anyway." He shuffled foot to foot, "I'll j-just be in the, uh, living room. We can order room service for dinner when the others join us."

Paige bit back a smile. Maybe he wasn't as unaffected by the atmosphere like she'd assumed. "Amazing view, don't you think?"

Walter looked up at her again and stood there for a few seconds studying her intently making her tempurature go up another few degrees. "Yes," he said, softly "Yes, it is."


	5. Chapter 5

**SILENT PARTNERS**

 **Chapter 5**

As soon as Toby stepped inside Paige and Walter's private villa, he started laughing hysterically causing Happy to throw him an irritated frown. He could be such an idiot at times. She was a bit too jet lagged and the whole weekend had been much too taxing emotionally to want to deal with his idiocy. First the dumbass nearly got himself killed, then he'd proposed in that stupid and perfect way with that stupid and perfect ring. And that forced her to confess something she wasn't ready to talk about with anyone let alone announce it to the whole world at once. Then he'd started grilling her the minute she showed back up at the garage for this case. When she didn't answer, he'd purposely picked a fight just to get a response out of her. True, he was totally wasted at the time, and he later apologized to her on the plane, but it was all too much.

"I know I'm going to regret asking, but what's so funny?" She said, her eyes narrowed.

His lips still twitching, he leaned close and answered for her ears only, "Even someone like Walter could get lucky in a place like this. The villa does all the wooing for you."

"Uh, gross. I really didn't want to think about Walter getting lucky, thanks." But Happy could actually see the truth and the humor in that statement, so her expression was more amused than annoyed when she replied. She had never been a hearts and flowers kind of girl, but… _damn_. This place was amazing. And she knew that fact wouldn't escape Paige's notice. Yep, with any luck, Armstrong was history. Happy firmly backed Team Walter. She just wished he would pull his stubborn head out of his backside, grow a set and ask Paige out sometime soon.

She was actually glad she and Toby weren't expected to stay here. Happy had more crap than she could handle for the moment. She really needed to sort through it all before trying to make any important decisions. Although she would never admit it to him, she found the doc so irresistible at times, she wasn't sure she could keep her head on straight on this island let alone in a villa like this. It was going to be hard enough staying in the same hotel with him.

Happy really didn't need anything to cloud her judgment any more than it already was. She simply wanted to consider everything and make a rational decision about how to proceed. Like taking apart an engine, diagnosing the problem and making a plan to fix it. She'd done it hundreds of times before. The issue was she'd never been very rational concerning Toby. He was her biggest weakness while also giving her strength. So, he was a dichotomy in her life.

The two of them proceeded past the massive bed that was the centerpiece of the main room and stepped down into the living room. Walter was talking to Sly and Ralph via Skype as Paige approached her and Toby with a room service menu. Paige and Walt had both changed clothes and Walter's hair was still wet presumably from a shower. Paige's hair was piled on top of her head in a messy knot, she was bare-footed and she was wearing some kind of loosely draped wrap-around garment. Happy didn't usually make note of things like that, but because of Toby's comments earlier, she wondered for a minute if the villa had already worked its magic on those two.

"So, Mrs. Boss, what's with the sheet you're wearing?" Toby asked Paige as if reading Happy's thoughts. That happened a lot. It was aggravating at times, but it kept her from having to verbalize things while satisfying her curiosity, so it could come in handy too.

Paige laughed at that, "It's a sarong. It's tradition in Bali to give a gift to visitors. This was with my luggage, so I thought, 'why not?' When in Rome…"

"If this was Rome, it would actually be a toga," Toby grinned, amusing himself, "Where's Walter's toga? The emperor should have one too."

She thrust the menu at him and rolled her eyes, still smiling at his lunacy. "Shut up and decide what you want for dinner. I'm about to call for room service."

Toby looked over the selection while Happy studied her boss. From behind his laptop screen, he kept tracking Paige wherever she walked in the room, vibrating like a motor with faulty mounts when she walked through his line of sight or got anywhere near him. Then he would drop his gaze when he thought she was going to turn toward him. It was amazing he could concentrate on his conversation with Sly at all. Any normal human would be too distracted. It made Happy want to throttle Walter. He needed to make a move sometime this century, but she had already said her piece and she wouldn't interfere again. She had her own issues.

The four of them were sitting around the coffee table discussing the particulars of the case when they heard a knock.

"Oh, that must be dinner," Paige said and rose to answer the door.

"It appears our fearless leader is hungry for something besides babi guling and bebek betutu. I have no idea what we ordered. I just like saying those words. But seriously, Walt, you look like you want to eat your dinner off of your faux spouse. You may want to consider letting us conclude our business quickly, so you can have Paige for dessert," Toby drawled.

Walter's lip curled and he glowered at the shrink, "Mind your own business for once. I'm just hungry. Legitimately hungry. For, uh, food."

"Whatever," Happy said under her breath.

Just then two waiters came through the door bearing trays of delicious-smelling food. As they set it all up on a round dining table in the corner of the living area, Paige walked back in followed by tall, lanky middle-aged man wearing a short-sleeved Hawaiian style shirt and khakis. He was accompanied by a younger, attractive woman in a traditional Balinese sarong topped by a lacy shirt.

Walter, Toby and Happy stood up to greet them.

"Om suastiastua," the couple said almost at the same time, bowing slightly with their hands steepled under their chins. They looked at each other and grinned.

"Hello, all," the older, jovial man said, "We are the proud owners of this resort. I'm Landon Irving and this is my wife Grace. Welcome, everyone. We are so glad you're here. We would have come by to greet you earlier, but we are running ourselves ragged trying to make everything perfect for the marriage seminar. Our speaker and all of the guest therapists arrived today as well as most of the attendees, so we've been up to our necks in deliveries, check-ins and greeting everybody. Forgive us for being lax. You got your schedule of events at check in, right?"

Everyone introduced themselves with their undercover identities for the case. Paige colored slightly and smiled shyly when Walter, with only a minimum of stuttering, presented her as his wife. Paige graciously assured the couple that the team didn't feel slighted in the least and they had all received their seminar packets. The waiters finished setting the table, complete with lighted candles and fresh flowers, before silently exiting the villa.

"Okay, now we can talk more freely," Mrs. Irving said, "Can you tell us your plans for catching the culprits? I'd really like to know exactly what to expect."

Walter gave her a rudimentary rundown of their plans, but tried to limit things to only what the owners might need to know without giving them too much information. The team would be investigating everyone while on the case, including trusted employees. Walter didn't want the Irvings to accidentally give anything away.

"We haven't had any incidents for more than a week, thank goodness," Mr. Irving said, "but we'll be glad to get this mess dealt with for good. We need to get back to business as usual as soon as possible. Do you have everything you need?"

Happy piped up, "We'll need the schematics for all of the buildings and a map of all of your land and holdings in the area. We can probably get the specs online, but it would be easier if you could just supply them for us."

"I'll have them delivered to you tonight. If there is anything else you can think of that you need, don't hesitate to contact us," Landon Irving handed Walter his business card, "That's has our private number listed on it as well. Now, we'd better leave things with you. We still have much to do in to prepare for tomorrow's influx of guests. Please enjoy your dinner and your stay. I appreciate your efforts more than you know. Richard couldn't say enough about how smart your team is, so I'm confident you can help us. You all are welcome to take advantage of the amenities of the resort if you have some down time while you're here. Or if you'd like to stay for a few days once the case is closed, please be our guests."

They all said their good nights and the Irvings left to take care of business elsewhere. After dinner, their own meeting wrapped up pretty quickly. All of the eventualities had been considered and the plans were in place. They had worked out a schedule for everyone, including Sylvester, to take turns monitoring the security feeds and all the incoming or outgoing communications.

Happy was waiting for Toby by the door so they could walk back to the hotel together. Paige was saying goodnight to Ralph on Walter's computer. While he thought everyone was occupied, Toby pulled Walter aside. Happy wasn't necessarily trying to eavesdrop, but if they didn't bother to make sure she was out of earshot, it wasn't her fault if she overheard.

"Ok, Casanova. I know you have first watch on security detail tonight, but all work and no play makes Walter a dull 'husband' and Paige a neglected and bored 'wife'. Take advantage of this seminar, the communication exercises, the atmosphere, the situation, and most of all _please_ take advantage of Paige. For all of our sakes."

Happy almost laughed aloud at that while Walter sputtered incoherently.

Toby shook Walter's hand and mumbled, "You'll thank me."

Walter looked baffled for a minute then looked down at his hand. His eyes widened and he stood there with his mouth opening and closing soundlessly before opening a drawer in the bedside table, shoving something inside and slamming it shut.

"Good night! Sweet dreams!" Toby said over his shoulder as he and Happy quickly ducked out the door and into the balmy night.

 **AN: Wow. I really struggled with this chapter. It's the first time I've attempted to write anything from Happy's POV. I think she's amazing, but out of all of the characters, I understand her the least. So you'll have to tell me if I did her justice.**

 **Hang on to your hats! Walter and Paige are heading to the Marriage Workshop next...**


	6. Chapter 6

**SILENT PARTNERS**

 **Chapter 6**

This was _not_ going to be easy. Walter took a seat next to his 'wife' in the pavilion after breakfast. Well, the attempt he'd made to eat breakfast anyway. He'd been unable to actually swallow very much after Paige joined him. Had she grown more attractive since they'd arrived on the island? Or maybe it started when he'd put that ostentatious engagement ring on her finger that kept catching his eye? Or maybe even before that when he'd actually admitted out loud to Toby that he loved her? Whatever and whenever it happened, it was nothing short of torture and he had no idea how to proceed. It was like he'd lost all of his grasp on logic. None of the rationale made sense.

To make matters worse, Paige seemed completely unaffected by him. She came strutting into the room after her shower yesterday wearing that…that flimsy, little bit of nothing. It looked like one good tug would cause it to fall to the floor. Even her bare feet with her toenails painted that ridiculous pink hue made him crazy. She wore a bracelet around one smooth, slender ankle. How had he never noticed it before? Walter lost over half of his IQ the instant he saw her and had to excuse himself immediately to take his own very cold shower…in the same room with that damn bathtub. And he could still smell her shampoo. Enticing thoughts swirled through his mind all during the shower rendering it essentially ineffective.

Then Toby kept needling him all evening as if Walter wasn't completely aware that he was nearly drooling and probably making an utter fool of himself. That bastard capped off the night by handing him a fistful of condoms. Okay, three to be precise.

So, Walter had spent the rest of the night in the living area with his face buried in his laptop trying his best to distract himself from how much he wanted to bury himself in the woman in that immense bed not fifteen feet on the other side of the doorway.

Paige sat up for a while reading 'The ABC's of Lasting Love', the book the seminar was based on, before falling asleep. _She_ didn't seem to have any trouble sleeping at all.

On the other hand, when Walter finally fell asleep on the sofa, his dreams were either full of the fear of rejection or excruciatingly erotic in nature. He woke up half aroused and feeling more tired than when he'd gone to sleep.

As he sat silently beside Paige in the open air pavilion waiting for the seminar to start, he tried to divert his thoughts by examining his surroundings. Even Walter had to admit this resort was incredible. The buildings on the grounds somehow didn't detract from the natural beauty, because they included nature in the décor. This particular structure was situated between a sacred pond with stone carvings all around it and a small tumbling waterfall that fed a creek wending its way toward the river. Long-legged, white birds swooped and darted around sometimes landing on sculpted likenesses of themselves or wading in the water searching for fish. Walter found himself taking what felt like his first deep breath since he'd sped away from the garage on Friday.

Until Paige leaned toward him and touched his arm, her face full of concern. "Are you okay, Walter? You've barely said five words all day, and you seem really tense."

Walter jumped at the contact, then tried to force himself to relax. "I-I'm fine. I guess I just think this is a waste of time when we should be, uh, helping with the investigation."

Paige's face fell. Did he say something wrong?

He didn't have time to wonder because the speaker came in and everyone started clapping in greeting. Grace Irving stood at the podium and gave a brief introduction. The author's name was Dr. Julie Garrison, a slim, handsome woman in her forties with café au lait skin and observant, dark brown eyes. She spoke in a pleasing British accent with just a hint of Welsh occasionally coming through.

Walter expected to hate this part. But the author was so compelling and the subject matter was so unfamiliar to him, that he found himself engaged in the topic instead. While Paige took actual written notes, he made a mental outline and even came up with several questions he'd like to ask if an opportunity arose. Being a decent partner in a relationship had been incomprehensible to him before, but the speaker made some suggestions he thought sounded practical. Maybe he just needed the right instruction manual all along.

When the presentation was over, he was rather disappointed and looked forward to the continuation scheduled for the following day. He clapped as enthusiastically as everyone else. Paige smiled at him, pleased but obviously surprised by his response. Perhaps he'd gained back some of the ground he'd inexplicibly lost earlier.

All of the attendees were handed questionnaires to fill out for the next portion of the workshop which was an individual counseling session. They were told not to share their answers with their partners. Walter was taking this whole workshop very seriously now and carefully obscured his answers from Paige. This seemed to amuse her for some reason and she kept teasing him by trying to read over his shoulder or snatch the survey from his hand. On her last attempt to grab his paper, he caught her wrist and tugged her close to him, his eyes narrowed in mock admonition.

Faces inches apart, they both started snickering quietly. Their eyes met and held and suddenly they weren't laughing any more. All the air seemed to rush out of Walter's lungs at one time and he could feel Paige's pulse throbbing rapidly under his fingers. She smelled like every memory he had of her, like lavender and sunshine. His eyes dropped to her mouth and the urge to kiss her was almost overwhelming.

At that moment, one of the assistants came by to pick up their answer sheets and announced there would be a fifteen minute break before they were to report back to the pavilion. Walter reluctantly released Paige's wrist.

The two of them got something to drink and decided to take a walk around the grounds to stretch their legs during the break. Walter felt marginally more calm and confident after Paige's teasing and their almost kiss. Her increased pulse rate and dilated pupils told him she was most likely still interested. So he decided to try an experiment. He switched his drink to his right hand and guardedly brushed the back of her free hand with his. Almost immediately she took the bait and linked her fingers with his.

Walter felt a surge of triumph. He was already fulfilling one of the 'A' requirements of 'The ABC's of Lasting Love' lecture. He had the 'Affection' part handled. He could do this. They spent a pleasant quarter hour meandering down by the river companionably talking about this and that.

Break time was over all too soon and they were almost late getting back to their seats. Walter was hoping Toby wouldn't be assigned as their private counselor. But he was surprised to find it was actually the author Julie Garrison herself. Walter began to feel apprehensive. He was unused to caring what others thought, but if an expert found him inadequate to love someone, it was a problem he didn't know how to solve.

The three of them strolled back toward the villa. Paige and the speaker chatted about incidentals while Walter mimicked a clam with laryngitis. He didn't want to say anything wrong or Dr. Garrison might tell Paige she shouldn't be with him, so he said nothing at all.

Paige and their counselor decided the three of them should sit at the table out by the pool. Walter didn't care where they sat as long as they got this over with quickly.

"First of all, I'd like the two of you to call me Julie," the doctor began, "We are going to get personally acquainted and talk about some sensitive subjects over the next few days, so we may as well be on a first name basis with each other. Agreed?" At their nods, she continued, "I looked over your questionnaires and you two are an interesting couple to say the least."

Walter was already starting to squirm. This woman seemed way too astute.

She went on, "From what I can glean from your answers, you are also pretty well-matched. Did you know for instance, that your answers were identical when you were asked what you like to do together? However, you do have a few issues we can work on this week. Walter, you seem to have trouble accepting and articulating your feelings. You have difficulty recognizing emotions in others. You also have a hard time opening yourself up, because of past rejections and fear of abandonment."

She got that from a twenty question survey?! Their cover was blown for sure! Now Walter was sweating. All the problems were on his side just as he'd suspected.

"Paige, you have trust issues and fear of abandonment as well. You have a tendency to threaten to leave when you are angry or afraid because you want to leave before you're left again. You'll have to try not to do that in the future if you want Walter to open up. If he is afraid you're going to leave, he will have an even harder time with it. He has to trust you."

What? This woman couldn't see that Paige was kind and accepting and well-adjusted?! He _did_ trust her. Walter opened his mouth to challenge those ideas, but he looked over and saw Paige was agreeing. He hesitantly reached over and squeezed one of her hands under the table instead.

The doctor chuckled and looked at Walter. "I see you have a protective streak. That's good news, but you can't sacrifice your health or well-being for Paige. You have to consider she fears being left as much as you do. Also, if I was to hazard a guess, you spent your first night here working. Am I right?"

Walter frowned and replied, "I was on duty last night. My job is important."

"No doubt someone with a genius IQ has an important job, but it's not the most important thing in your life. You don't want 'Good Worker' etched on your tombstone."

"Why would I care? I won't be around to see my tombstone," Walter said dismissively.

Instead of being insulted, the doctor laughed as she turned her gaze to Paige. "You have a stubborn and arrogant one here, but that's not all bad. It means he won't ever give up on you. And confidence can be sexy," she winked then addressed Walter again," Seriously, I'm not going to try to extract a promise from you not to work, but I am going to ask that you try to make time engaging with your wife a priority as well. Enjoy being in this beautiful place with her. You have to find a balance."

Walter breathed a sigh of relief when Dr. Garrison stood and said, "That's about all I have for you today. If you think of any questions, write them down and we'll address them tomorrow."

Well, he _was_ relieved until she took an envelope out of the folder she was holding and handed it to Paige. "Here is your homework assignment for today. The exercises I'll be giving you over the course of the workshop are to help with emotional intimacy and trust. I'm going to ask you to try to refrain from having sex for a few days. When you make a deeper emotional connection, it will make everything that much better. But you have to establish that openness. I'm asking you to trust me on that for now."

Walter wanted to shove Dr. Julie Garrison into the pool.

 **AN: I can feel the rotten eggs and tomatoes whizzing through the air toward my head right now! But if you hurt me, I can never bring the torture to a happy ending...*wink***


	7. Chapter 7

**SILENT PARTNERS**

 **Chapter 7**

If the no sex edict from Dr. Garrison hadn't been so painful and embarrassing for her, Paige would have laughed at the sour look on Walter's face. Did that mean he was just as tangled up with desire as she was? She'd caught him staring at her several times the night before. And she thought for a minute he was going to kiss her when they were down at the pavilion after the presentation that morning. She nearly had a heart attack from the anticipation. He'd almost acted _flirty_ right before too. That was one word she never thought she'd use to refer to Walter O'Brien, but he'd surprised the hell out of her with his attention to the program and then with his attention to her. And he'd held her hand for a full ten minutes when they were walking!

Maybe the island was magical…

…Or it could be he was just upset about the 'emotional intimacy' part. And that's why he'd made that face at their counselor as she was leaving. Walter was back to being stony and quiet and unfathomable again as soon as they'd headed back to the villa for the private session. He hadn't even managed a civil goodbye to the doctor's breezy, "See you tomorrow!"

These thoughts ran through Paige's mind as she walked Julie to the door of the villa, so she asked, "Are you a behaviorist as well as a therapist? You seemed to know so much about us from just that short questionnaire we filled out. If you are, I was wondering if you see any signs that Walter will eventually open up more with me."

The doctor touched her arm and said, "I am quite insightful most of the time, but in case you are starting to believe I'm clairvoyant or something, I'll tell you that your friend Dr. Curtis and I had a long discussion this morning regarding your relationship. He gave me some background into Walter as well. Be patient with him. This is much harder for him than for most people as I'm sure you already know. But just from the brief time I've been observing the two of you, I can tell he adores you and he's very dependant on you emotionally. _And_ he would hate me saying that to you." Julie and Paige shared a smile, "But, yes, I see every indication he actually wants to be more open with you. Keep after him about the homework. Don't let him get out of it, okay? I'll see you in the morning."

Encouraged, Paige waved goodbye and turned to go back out to the pool. Through the window she could see Walter hadn't moved from the deck chair. He was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and he was raking agitated fingers through his thick, curly hair. A wave of tenderness washed over her. She could see he was struggling and she wished he would just talk to her.

Strolling out onto the deck, she asked, "Hey. Are you okay? That got a little intense, huh?"

"I'm fine," Walter said then sighed.

"Do you want to get the homework assignment out of the way?"

Walter looked at a place just above her shoulder, "Well, it's not real. It's just for the case, right? I should check in with the others."

Paige tried not to react, but she felt a stab of hurt and disappointment at his words. Was everything this morning just an act for the case? 'Here we go again,' she thought, but didn't voice it. Instead she said, "What do you need me to do? Should I monitor the security cameras for a while? Or do some background checks on employees?"

Standing to go back into the villa, his shoulders slumped tiredly, he answered, "I think you should poke around the resort for a little while. See if you hear or observe anything out of the ordinary…"

"We're here for a marriage conference. You don't think it will look strange if I'm wandering around on my own?"

He ran a hand impatiently over his face. "Paige, I need some time to clear my head. Just go, okay?"

Well…that hurt. A lot. She pivoted on her heel and headed toward the entry, so she didn't hear his quiet, "Uh, Paige? Wait. I-I'm sorry." She shut the door on his words and was gone.

What better place to get all the gossip than the spa? And Paige could get in some well-deserved pampering in the process. Who cares if all the charges went to the room then ultimately on Walter's credit card? She was investigating, wasn't she? She signed herself up for a massage, a mani/pedi and several other services. And she was going to thoroughly enjoy every second of them.

For the first time since she landed on the island, she thought about Tim. How sad was that? Why on Earth couldn't she fall for someone easy like Tim? No, for some reason her heart, and heaven help her, her body preferred a stubborn, arrogant, closed-off jerk that was moodier than a hormonal teenager lately.

But enough of that. Paige was going to relax, unlike some people she could name, oh, and discreetly probe everyone for information as well. If she could fit it in.

In the late afternoon, an indulged and much more serene Paige headed back to the villa determined to take one more shot at getting Walter to do the homework. She was convinced all of his actions that morning couldn't have been pretending. Besides case or no case, the therapist was going to ask about it tomorrow. They had to at least be familiar with it.

When she walked in, she could see Toby out by the pool in a tee shirt and knee length swimming trunks so brightly colored they painfully dazzled the eyes. He was nursing a drink in a coconut shell. Happy was beside him and was acting like she was going to dump her own umbrella drink over his head. They were both laughing and looked carefree and cheerful. It was gratifying to see. Paige hoped the island was having its magical effect on her friends and they were working through some things.

Walter emerged from the living room while she was watching the other couple. He froze in his tracks for a minute just staring. Then he made his way over to her.

"Uh, hello," He said, "I want to apologize for being abrupt earlier." He crossed his arms and looked at the floor. "I was un-uncomfortable. You-you look, uh, lovely by the way."

His face flushed and he wouldn't look at her. Her heart was soaring at his words and Paige couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face. She gently touched his chin until he raised his eyes to hers. "It's okay, Walter. I understand. I do. I was a little embarrassed and uncomfortable myself and my EQ is fully developed. But if you ever need some time to yourself, you can just tell me. It would cost you a whole lot less money."

When he looked confused, she explained what she'd spent the afternoon doing.

"Uh…" Walter swallowed, "If-if it helped you feel better, it was a good investment. And I can see the, uh, end results were worth every penny."

Was he making an attempt at flirting again? "Was that a real compliment or a bending compliment because you don't want me to be mad anymore?"

His eyes met hers fully and he said, "Oh, it was _very_ real."

It was her turn to stare after him as he went to call the others in for the status update meeting.

Dinner was pleasant and everyone seemed at ease. Walter was always back in his comfort zone when he was working.

Happy made some progress installing better security. Sylvester had observed some suspicious outgoing communications and even Paige had picked up a bit of buzz at the spa that she could share. Toby had been able to profile a couple of employees who appeared to be getting money on the side. Even with the distractions it had been a productive day.

As the sun dipped down below the horizon, the team said their goodnights either via Skype or as they were leaving. Paige took a few extra minutes to talk to Ralph before they signed off.

And once more Paige found herself alone with Walter in those seductive surroundings. She was just about to suggest they work on their homework, when he piped up unprompted, "So, uh, do you think we should do our assignment now?"

"I think it's a good idea. I'm sure we'll be asked about it in our session tomorrow," She replied, "I'll go get it and we can at least read it over."

Paige got the envelope out of her book and brought it into the living area. It seemed like they were both avoiding the bedroom for now. She handed it to Walter and let him read the instructions first.

He frowned and wrinkled his nose a little, looking skeptical. Then he said, sounding unsure, "Well this doesn't sound too bad. I think it will be okay for us to try it."

Walter handed the paper to Paige and she read:

 _This exercise is an introduction and a good first step toward emotional intimacy. It only touches the surface, so it is a positive place to start._

 _First, power down or mute electronic devices. Your focus should be on each other with no distractions. Then follow these instructions:_

 _1) Stand up facing one another with your eyes closed and just resting your foreheads together. Take seven slow, deep breaths in tandem._

 _2) Straighten and face each other._

 _3) Take turns telling your spouse three physical but non-sexual things you find attractive about him or her while touching that feature. Share why you find the feature attractive._

"Walter, are you ready?" Paige said when she was finished reading. She was suddenly feeling a little apprehensive.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked when he didn't answer.

Walter shut his laptop and turned the ringer off on his phone. He busied himself making sure the comms were stowed away and turned off. He kept fidgeting with everything and wouldn't look at her.

"Walter?"

"Oh, uh, yes. Sure. Okay. Let's...let's do it," His eyes snapped to hers, "I meant..."

Paige giggled nervously, "I know what you meant. Come on over here. We'll make this as quick and painless as possible. Have you got your three things already?"

"I'm having a hard time limiting the list to only three."

Her lips parted on a little gasp. Warmth flooded her face as he shuffled toward her, stopping so close she could feel his body heat. Haltingly, hesitantly Walter reached for her wrists taking one in each of his hands. He drew Paige even closer, then he slid his fingertips down, lightly stroking over her palms and held her fingers loosely with his.

"Ready." He whispered.

She could only nod as they both lowered their heads, touching their brows together and closing their eyes. Paige tried to modulate her breathing, but her heart was beating too fast. Luckily Walter seemed to be having the same issue, so after the first two breaths, they were able to breathe perfectly in sync. She'd never been able to have him this close for this long. It felt so good, she was sorry when they began to draw in their seventh breath. The two of them stood still, holding that last breath slightly longer than the others before beginning to exhale.

Walter was the first to straighten back up and he reluctantly released her hands. They stood for a few more moments just looking at each other, still breathing as one.

"Would you like to go first?" Paige asked, surprised at how wobbly she sounded.

"Okay," he answered, his voice a little rusty. Walter took one of her hands in his. "I, uh, find your h-hands attractive. Um, be-because they're soft and feminine, but that's deceiving because they are also so strong and always reassuring to, uh, me when-when I hold them."

She thought he was finished and started to draw away to take her turn, but Paige was floored when he turned her hand over and pressed his lips first to her palm then to the thrumming pulse in her wrist. A thrill washed over her and left her speechless. She shook her head slightly and blinked trying to restore her ability to speak as he let go of her hand and looked at her expectantly.

Paige leaned toward Walter and placed one hand on his chest just below his right shoulder. She could feel his heartbeat kick up under her palm. His eyes fluttered closed and he swallowed hard as she glided her fingers up to rest on his shoulder. She had to clear her throat before she could talk and even then it came out raspy, "Your shoulders are attractive to me..," She inhaled a deep draught of air to steady herself, "Because they are masculine and strong. You never fail to protect me. They make me feel s-safe."

Feeling the need to reciprocate his earlier gesture, she pressed her lips to his shoulder then touched them to the pulse beating in his neck. He made a low noise in his throat and he gazed at her intently his brow furrowed.

Without pause this time, Walter brushed Paige's hair over one shoulder, rested his fingers behind her neck and ran a thumb over the soft spot behind her ear. "I like your neck. Be-because you are so warm and you smell so nice all the time. You don't wear your hair up very often, but when you do, I want to kiss you r-right here."

He kissed her tenderly right below her earlobe letting his lips linger for a second and her knees nearly gave way. She was sure she whimpered. He thought she was warm before? She was very close to melting. What were they doing again?

Paige ran her fingers into his hair on both sides of his head letting her newly polished nails scratch his scalp lightly. Walter shivered. "I like your hair," She said, "Its curly and wild but silky and no matter how much control you always have over everything else, it never quite obeys you even when you cut it so short. I always want to play with it." She gently tilted his head down to place a kiss on the crown.

Walter quirked a crooked smile at her. "I love your eyes," he said as he traced her eyebrows with his thumbs then her eyelids with his fingertips, "They sometimes tell me things even when you don't say anything." Paige moaned softly and arched toward him when he placed a feather-light kiss first on one closed eye then the other.

Beginning to feel that desperate, aching tug deep inside herself, she swallowed and just managed to murmur as she cupped his face with one shaky hand. "A-and I love your smile." But she couldn't remember why at that moment as she traced his bottom lip with her thumb. His eyes bored into her and his color heightened as his gaze dropped to her mouth.

Paige couldn't say for sure who moved first, all she knew was that Walter's lips were suddenly on hers and they both groaned as their tongues tangled and stroked. Her fingers plowed into his hair and he slipped his arms around her and crushed her against him. All she could think was, 'Yes! Please! Now!' as they tried to devour each other. One of his hands wandered up her side and his thumb grazed the side of her breast. She whimpered into his mouth and leaned toward that hand, silently begging. Walter brushed his thumb over the peak and she cried out breaking away. Never had she felt so much from so little. She was as exhilarated as she was terrified by the intensity.

They both stepped back, with eyes widened and chests heaving.

"I should probably...," he croaked as she panted, "I need to..."

With that, Paige turned and sprinted toward the bathroom.

 **AN: *whew* Really loooooong chapter for me. But I wanted to get them through their first homework assignment from Paige's POV.**


	8. Chapter 8

**SILENT PARTNERS**

 **Chapter 8**

Dr. Tobias M. Curtis was feeling rather optimistic as he took one last look in the bathroom mirror to straighten his collar. He was staying in this sumptuous hotel where the atmosphere put everyone in the mood for sweet, sweet lovin' with the girl of his dreams. Yes, they still hadn't discussed the whole parade of elephants in the room. And yes, they were staying in separate rooms for the time being. But he could tell she wanted to invite him in when he'd walked back with her after dinner. She had that look about her. Toby knew that look.

The previous evening, the moon was high and bright and he'd picked a bright red hibiscus from an obliging bush as they walked along. He'd tucked it behind Happy's ear. The red looked amazing against her shiny, black hair. True, she shoved his hand away and rolled her eyes, but she left the flower where he put it. When they got to her door, he leaned down to kiss her cheek and Happy had turned her head and caught the corner of his mouth with hers. Toby decided to play it cool and he'd just said goodnight and left, but he could feel her eyes following him as he walked away. It took every reserve of strength he had not to turn around and run back, but she'd asked for space. And he was _going_ to give it to her. And he wasn't going to beg. Yet.

Toby really needed to get down to the pavilion for Day Two of the seminar. He was rather enjoying the tips and pointers he was picking up. Dr. Julie Garrison might not be an actual genius, but she was absolutely brilliant with relationships. He took her advice and backed way off of Happy. Friendly but aloof was how he would play this.

In return he'd dropped some not-so-subtle hints to the good doctor about Walt and Paige. It was enough to have the author intrigued so she would take them on personally. It really was an inspired little twist of manipulation on his part, and 197 needed all the help he could get. He wouldn't listen to anything if it came from Toby.

He opened the door and there on the doorstep was a single, perfect, white orchid. He looked around to see if anyone else had flowers on their porches. His was the only one. A smile tickled the corners of Toby's mouth. 'Yep. Today is going to be great,' he thought as he stooped to pick up the flower and made his way to the seminar to meddle in other people's affairs. Oh, and work on the case…if he could fit it in.

XOXOXOXOXO

Why had no one told him? It may have unsettled him at first, but who knew just talking and breathing would make him feel more comfortable touching Paige? Who knew acknowledging it out loud would make the attraction even stronger? And _her_ reaction to his words? Off. The. Scale! This was all news to him.

Sure, things had been a little awkward afterwards. Paige had run off after their embrace and he'd heard the shower running a few seconds later. She spent the rest of the evening reading in bed while he pretended to monitor the communications and security feed, but he was actually replaying every second of their encounter over and over in his mind. After Paige went to sleep, he snuck into the bedroom and grabbed the book. Walter fell asleep on the sofa reading 'The ABC's of Lasting Love' and dreamed of a future where Paige was always the prominent feature. He paused and rewound the most arousing segments several times each.

In the morning, they'd both been exceedingly polite and accommodating with each other, but Paige kept giving him shy smiles and he couldn't make himself stop touching her. Walter brushed a stray wisp of hair behind her ear at breakfast and he linked their fingers together on the way to the pavilion. He put a hand on the small of her back to guide her toward their seats then rested his arm on the back of her chair once they sat down. Each time he touched her, she would look a little bewildered. But she would smile and lean into him all the same. For the first time he thought he might survive opening up to someone and maybe, just maybe he wouldn't totally ruin it.

No one could have pried Walter away from the lecture that day even if the building was on fire. He and Paige were the first ones to arrive. He was determined to spend the whole day in her company. And he couldn't _wait_ for more homework! Oh, and he would focus on the case too…when he could fit it in.

XOXOXOXOXO

Happy didn't know how to act. The doc was being weird. Well, weirder than was normal for him anyway. She was standing atop a ladder making adjustments to a security camera she had just mounted in the corner of the lobby.

Toby wasn't pestering her about the whole married situation. In fact, he hadn't asked her anything nosy in the last two days. He had agreed to give her space, but she didn't think he really meant it. And he didn't beg her to come by his room using any of his usual euphemisms for sex either. It was disconcerting.

She was used to him panting after her and always having him in reserve when she wanted him. True, yesterday they had laughed about his hideous shorts and he put that dumb flower in her hair when they walked back to the hotel after dinner. But when they got to her door, he tried to kiss her on the cheek like he was her brother or something. When she tried to turn up the heat a little, he walked away. What the hell was up with that?

That's why she left that ridiculous flower at his door this morning. But when she saw him at lunch, there was no sign of it and he didn't mention it.

Maybe she would step up her game a little. Toby wouldn't know what hit him. Happy needed to plan. She was going to get right on that…oh, and work on the case if she could fit it in.

XOXOXOXOXO

Paige was absolutely going to have her way with Walter. As soon as possible. In as many ways as she could. In every single room of that amazing villa. Twice. It was inevitable. Another intimacy exercise and explosive embrace like they'd had yesterday and she wouldn't be able to control herself. That homework assignment should have come with a warning label. Warning! May cause combustion!

Walter was being so considerate. It was a little spooky. And the looks he kept giving her. Oh, my.

He kept touching her. Actually reaching out and touching her. On purpose. Nothing improper, but it kept her mind going down a lot of distractingly improper pathways. Plus, it just wasn't like him. Not that she was complaining.

After a picnic lunch down by the river, he was planning to rent a moped and take her shopping at the bizarre in Ubud.

Dr. Garrison had commended the plans for the afternoon during their private session. Walter hadn't exactly been chatty with the therapist, but at least he wasn't hostile and he did listen. He seemed eager to accept the envelope with their next assignment from Julie.

Paige couldn't _wait_ to get to the homework tonight, but she was going to enjoy her day with Walter first…oh, and work on the case when she could fit it in.

XOXOXOXOXO

Dinner at the villa was rushed. Both couples had other things on their minds. There was enough electricity arcing around to light up the whole island and possibly the surrounding ones as well. Sylvester was the only one to report anything significant. He was still picking up suspicious emails, but they were vague and he couldn't pinpoint the source because the culprit or culprits were using the computers in the resort's business center. They had been exploiting a blind spot that Happy's newly installed lobby security camera should cover.

Landon and Grace Irving came over after dinner to get an update on their progress. It was somewhat embarrassing because they didn't have much to report. The team let Paige and Toby do the majority of the talking because she was the most reassuring and he was the best at fabrication. Grace in particular seemed the most agitated that the team didn't have more details to give. But Paige was able to convince her they would redouble their efforts the next day.

After the owners left, Walter sternly reminded everyone, himself most of all, they were there to do a job. They owed their clients exemplary service, and they didn't want to reflect poorly on Richard Elia after his recommendation. But because of his incredible day with Paige, he was having a hard time feeling too guilty. He promised himself he would concentrate on the case more the following day and he shooed everyone out the door in anticipation of the next homework assignment. He was hoping for a repeat of the previous night's physical gratification only perhaps taking it a bit further this time.

When he walked back into the room with the envelope in his hand, he found Paige on his computer wishing Ralph a good night when her son was actually eating his breakfast and getting ready for school. When Ralph reminded her of the time difference, she laughed and told him to have a great day at school instead. Walter was suddenly overpowered by a rush of affection for both of them. This love stuff was new and heady and a little alarming.

As Paige signed off, he opened the second envelope and read:

 _This next exercise will take things to a deeper level emotionally. Instead of physical attraction, this deals with aspects of personality and how well you know your spouse._

 _Again, turn off all electronics and set aside this time to be totally in the moment with your partner._

 _1) Sit on your bed this time and face each other however you are most comfortable as long as you are able to rest your foreheads together. Repeat the breathing exercise we used to open the previous assignment._

 _2) Straighten and join hands._

 _3) Take turns telling your spouse three aspects to his/her personality you admire. Start with a general trait that most people would notice. Next, choose something close friends would know. Lastly, choose something most people wouldn't know. End each level with a gesture of affection that fits the level of intimacy. ie: a kiss on the cheek for level one, a platonic peck on the lips for level two, and a deeper kiss for the last level._

 _4) Turn on some soft music and spend at least ten minutes holding each other._

 _This exercise should not be sexual in nature. Please try to abstain if possible._

Walter nodded and handed the instructions to Paige, his mind occupied with all the personality traits he admired in her. Again, he was having a difficult time narrowing the list down to only three. He busied himself turning off the electronic distractions as he thought about what to say. Even though they had spent an enjoyable day together, he was feeling unaccountably anxious. What if he did or said something wrong this time?

Paige looked over at him from the doorway to the bedroom and said, "Are we going to do this, or what?" Beaming, she extended her hand and he took it. His heart skipped a beat as she led him to that gargantuan bed. This scenario had played out in at least one of his dreams last night…but they hadn't ended up doing homework.

Feeling the old self-consciousness and discomfort steal over him, Walter had to force himself to proceed. He leaned one knee on the mattress and stalled. Why was this so difficult?

As if reading his mind, Paige said, "It's okay. We'll do this however you are most comfortable. If you'll go sit in the middle of the, um, bed...," she had to stop and clear her throat, "I want to spread the netting around it like a tent."

Still feeling awkward, Walter nodded and toed off his shoes. He had to crawl across to get to the center and he sat cross legged taking deep breaths to try to steady himself.

Paige untied the gauzy, opaque netting from the corner posts and spread it out around the sides of the bed until Walter's view of the room was obscured. She switched off the lights in the room leaving only the lamps on the bedside tables burning and their light was dissipated and dimmed through the filmy curtains.

Parting the curtains, Paige appeared in the opening. Walter's breath caught. She was magnificent.

She crawled toward him and sat down facing him, mirroring his crossed legs, her knees touching his. The smile she gave him was a little tremulous and her hands were shaking slightly when she took his. They rested their joined hands on her knees.

Without talking, they leaned toward one another and began the breathing exercise. This time they were able to get in sync more quickly, almost from the first breath.

When they sat back up, Walter felt a little better and he spent a few moments just beholding the exquisite woman in front of him. She was damn near perfect in his mind even though he knew that was illogical, if she had flaws he was unable to detect them at that moment.

"You go first this time," he said.

Paige blinked at him a few times as if coming out of a trance. "Oh, okay. The first thing I appreciate about your personality, that anyone with eyes could see, is the fact that you're smart."

Walter shrugged a little and grinned. "Um the most obvious and admirable of your traits, and the first thing I noticed, is what a great mom you are. You are very conscientious."

"Aw, thanks." Paige answered, "Should we, uh…"

Walter leaned forward and brushed her cheek with his lips. Paige returned the gesture. And they smiled giddily at one another.

"Let's see. I like that you are loyal and protective of those who are important to you. I could say you were brave, but you don't experience fear like most people. I do like the fact you use that aspect of yourself to help others. I know that's really three, but I couldn't decide which I liked better."

He was humbled by her assessment. Did she really see him that way? Walter wasn't trying to impress anyone with those things, but he was secretly thrilled with her opinion.

He had to speak past a thickness in his throat so he sounded a bit strangled when he said, "You are the kindest most accepting person I've ever met. You can look past people's actions to their motivation. You don't let people run over you, but you are very forgiving. I've always liked and admired those things about you."

A film of moisture formed in Paige's eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.

As one they leaned in to touch their lips together softly. They probably stayed that way longer than the instructions indicated they should, but it felt right.

When they sat back again, Paige blinked and took a deep shuddering breath before continuing, her voice sounding a trifle hoarse, "You have denied its very existence, and you don't love easily. But I _know_ when you love people you love them deeply. You are all in. If you lose someone, it's devastating because you love so hard. I love that about you."

A muscle twitched in Walter's cheek as he sat there astounded. He couldn't look at Paige. He never said those things to _anyone,_ himself included. He felt exposed and vulnerable. How could she see that? He hunched his shoulders trying to close himself off.

Walter really wanted to snatch his hands away and bolt, but her voice stopped him. "Walter. Don't be afraid. You are your heart, remember?" Those were Megan's words to him and they brought him up short. So he did the thing he always did when he was confused and upset, he looked into Paige's eyes for guidance. He was embarrassed when his bottom lip trembled a bit. He was surprised when he looked down and saw he was squeezing Paige's hands very tightly, but she'd looked at him with understanding. Walter loosened his grip and Paige took one of her hands and pressed it to the side of his face. He leaned into her touch, drinking in her reassurance and feeling marginally calmer.

Still unable to meet her gaze, he whispered at first, but his voice gained strength as he kept going, "You are actually one of the most s-selfless people I know. I know you feel lonely a lot of the time because you are surrounded by a bunch of obnoxious geniuses that don't understand how you think or feel. Even your own son is like us. I know you want to be understood like everyone else, but you sacrifice that to give us all a sense of home. You help a group of misfits have somewhere to belong at the expense of your own comfort a lot of times. Th-that's one reason why…I, uh, thought Tim might be safer for you."

They didn't even hesitate this time. Their lips found each others' and they kissed deeply, but it was tender and searching instead of steamy. It was like they were having a whole conversation through that kiss.

Walter broke away when he felt Paige's tears on his face. He pulled her onto his lap and just held on and swayed. When he finally released her, by tacit agreement, they both scooted up to the pillows at the headboard. Walter reached through the netting and found the MP3 player on one of the nightstands. He turned it on and the same fluty music that played in the lobby piped out of the speakers.

Relaxing with his back against the headboard stacked with pillows, he beckoned Paige to him. She quickly obliged and laid her head on his chest right over his heart. His fingers stroked the hair away from her face. They stayed that way for much longer than the ten minutes the instructions advised. In fact, Walter and Paige found the whole assignment so exhausting they fell asleep in each other's embrace and didn't wake up until morning.

 **AN: Another looooong chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it. I'm trying really hard to finish before I go on vacation and I'm out of comm range for three weeks.**

 **I know at least one person asked me about the intimacy exercises. They are real with a few slight modifications to fit the situation. They are actually the 'what if' that inspired this story. Feel free to try them out.**


	9. Chapter 9

**SILENT PARTNERS**

 **Chapter 9**

Happy was a woman of action. So a day filled with inactive planning only to come up with zilch? Torturous! Toby was the one who made grand romantic gestures and loud, embarrassing announcements, not her. She had almost broken down and asked Paige for some ideas, but that would have been a little too humiliating.

Happy didn't want to get involved with Toby in the first place. Now that line had been not only crossed but obliterated. And almost as soon as she put them in this current self-imposed limbo, she found herself missing the connection. Missing the companionship. It was like losing her right arm. And, face it, missing the sex. It hadn't even been a week.

She remembered her father telling her once that he would endure all the pain he went through again just to have one more day with her mother. She was beginning to understand that. It wasn't an altogether pleasant thought and it certainly wasn't a welcome realization, but facts were facts.

As Happy stood on the inside of her hotel room leaning her back against the door, an idea began to take shape. Yes, it wasn't sky writing or a marching band or an asinine confetti cannon, but it should be effective enough.

She showered and changed into one of the hotel's plush bathrobes. She put on perfume for the second time in her life. Slipping her feet into a pair of flip-flops and grabbing her lock picks, she quietly exited her room. Happy snuck over to Toby's room and peered in the front window. The lights were still on, but she could hear the shower running. Perfect!

Happy had the lock picked in 7 seconds flat. She really needed to talk to the Irvings about boosting security. Kicking off the sandals at the door, she stole over to Toby's bed, dropped her robe to the floor and propped herself against the headboard surrounded by pillows.

Okay, too cold. She got up dimmed the lights, lit some candles, got back into position on the bed and drew the robe loosely over top herself. She would just need to whip it off when he came out of the bathroom. That might even be sexier?

Fighting nerves and adrenaline, Happy willed herself to stay still as she listened to Toby sing "She Will Be Loved" seriously and painfully off key while he showered. What the hell was taking him so long? Was he washing every hair individually?

What felt like an hour later, Toby came strolling out of the bathroom with a towel twisted into a turban on his head and another wrapped around his bony hips. When he spotted her in the middle of his bed, he froze and his mouth dropped open when she swung the robe up and off her body.

The air current from the flying garment put out over half the candles, but what she could see of his expression was still priceless. Happy was already geared up just from that look alone.

But then he had to open his mouth.

"H-happy. I don't think I've ever said this to any woman in my life, much less you. But I-I can't do this."

Staring at a place at the front of the towel just below his waist, she smirked. "It appears that you're quite capable to me."

"No. I _can_ do it. I _want_ to do it. But we can't until we get this whole married situation handled. I don't even know who you're married to! Or if he could kick my ass! Or why you're married. Or why you haven't brought it up. Or if you want to _stay_ married to this mystery person."

Seriously mortified, Happy scrambled off the bed, grabbed her robe and stuffed her arms through the sleeves. In a deceptively quiet voice, she said, "Well, sorry to disturb your evening, doc. I guess you can just screw yourself instead."

Fighting tears, Happy bolted out the door, slamming it behind her. Then she remembered both her room key and her lock picks were inside Toby's room.

XOXOXOXOXO

Paige woke up and stretched luxuriously before looking down and realizing she was still wearing her clothes from the night before. Then the whole previous day played back in her mind and she smiled on a sigh. Who knew Walter could be so…so… un-Walter-like?!

And where was that beautiful man this morning? Should she get ready then bring him some breakfast? Or maybe he was getting breakfast for her. Paige was suddenly famished at the thought. So, she rose intending to take a shower and get ready.

Just then, the man in question appeared at the door. But instead of breakfast or even a 'good morning', what she got was, "Oh, good. You're finally awake. I need you to get down to business. Sylvester and I have narrowed things down to two different employees we think are involved and I need you to look over our observations and tell me your opinion. We have also concluded they are just minor cogs in the machine and I need your input on who you think might be the ring leader. We have our suspicions, but I'm going to need Toby's thoughts on it too before we look for definitive proof. I'll let you read over the emails and you can see what we're talking about."

Paige raised her eyebrows. "Well good morning to you," she said.

"I know you prefer a different greeting, but I really need you to get busy. I think we've had a breakthrough on the case, and we have been wasting too much time as it is."

Wasting time? "Aren't we going to the lecture this morning?" Paige asked.

"We have too much to do. I'm too far behind schedule on this case as it is. I think it's best if we skip it."

Something was wrong. Walter had been focusing on the papers in his hand or looking out the windows or shuffling his feet as he was talking. He was shutting down again. They had gotten a little too close for comfort last night and now he was pulling away. His left brain had obviously been busy this morning.

Tamping down her frustration, Paige decided to let it go for the time being. She would give him a chance to process what happened without pressing him about it. And she wouldn't hassle him for being rude. But tonight, she was going to try to reach out to him again.

So she took a steadying breath and answered, "I need to get ready first. I'll be out in half an hour."

Walter nodded and returned to the living room.

Paige gathered her things and headed to the bathroom. The first thing she noticed was Walter's wedding ring lying in the soap dish by the sink. Well, that wasn't a good sign. It could be he'd just forgotten to put it back on after showering, but this was the first time she'd seen it off his hand since he put it on three days ago.

Alright. Fine. She would make him regret backing off. Paige took her time getting ready and paid more attention to her make up than she normally would. It was her shield since it appeared she would be going into battle, fighting to reclaim the ground she'd lost while she was asleep. She wound her hair up on top of her head too. Walter admitted he was tempted to kiss her neck when she wore it up. She touched the spot below her ear where his lips had been. The memory made her heart flutter. Might as well flaunt what she knew he liked. No harm in having weapons in war. And make no mistake, this was war. Paige was done losing him every time she felt like they were getting closer. She had her shield and her sword ready, now for the armor. Paige donned the new scarlet bikini she bought at the bizarre yesterday. She put the matching crimson, sheer lace button down on over it, leaving it unbuttoned of course, and tied a white sarong loosely around her waist that left one leg exposed when she walked. Take that, Mr. Walter-I-Have-No-EQ-O'Brien!

It was more like an hour later when Paige strode into the living room, all business. "What have you got for me?" She asked.

Walter fully looked at her for the first time that morning. He gulped and his eyes went very round, any wider and they would have fallen out of his head and rolled around. Paige hid the satisfied smirk threatening to break out by biting her bottom lip.

She held out a hand, putting on her best patient inquiry face, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, uh, I'm…I'm s-sure. Uh, this...," Walter stuttered, shuffling papers around the coffee table. A few drifted off the table and skittered across the tile floor.

It was so gratifying to make him speechless. Her triumph was short-lived however, because as she watched, his guard went back up. Clenching his fists then retrieving the errant papers, he handed them to her dropping his gaze. "Read these e-mails and see if you draw the same conclusions Sly and I did."

He all but shoved the files at her, and buried his focus in the computer screen.

Paige spent a good two hours reading and rereading the correspondence until she heard a knock on the front door. She was so engrossed in the work it was a minute before she remembered they were supposed to have an individual counseling session at 10:30.

Without looking up, Walter stated, "Tell her we have to work."

Paige huffed out an exasperated breath as she rose to answer the door. Was he incapable of going to the door and telling Julie himself? But she was all smiles when she greeted the therapist a minute later.

"Hello, Julie. It's good to see you. I'm so sorry. We should have gotten a message to you. We are having to catch up on some work this morning and won't be able to meet with you today."

The doctor gave Paige a knowing look. "He's a little unsettled from the last exercise I would guess. I'll give him a free pass today and you let him have some time too, but don't let him isolate himself for too long. Here is your homework assignment for today. Insist on it. And, Paige? Enjoy yourself!"

As Julie turned to go, she gave a little wave over her shoulder. Paige stood in the doorway holding the envelope, nearly having palpitations thinking about what it might contain. Could she talk Walter into doing the assignment if they were close to solving the case?

Pretending to be nonchalant, she handed the envelope to Walter. "She left us our homework for later," she said.

Paige took it as a good sign when Walter took it from her and after a moment, opened it and read it. That was until his eyes nearly popped out and he tore the paper up, envelope and all. "N-no. Uh, No way," he said, shaking his head and throwing the pieces into the nearest trash can.

Paige promised herself she would get to the bottom of that reaction later. If she said anything at that moment, she might regret it. So, she went back to the case file and began to sort through it again.

Toby came by early in the afternoon looking worse than Paige had ever seen him. When she asked him what was wrong, there were no sarcastic comments or witty one-liners either. He just shrugged and looked over the profiles of the suspects Walter pointed out to him. Paige also noticed Happy seemed to be AWOL. It was nearly one o'clock and no one had heard from her. When asked if he'd seen her, Toby just shook his head.

Paige asked about lunch, but everyone was preoccupied and didn't act interested. So, she called and ordered a tray of sandwiches they could eat when the mood hit. Thinking about it, she skipped breakfast, but she didn't have much of an appetite either.

They worked all afternoon examining the evidence and all three of them drew the same conclusion. Grace Irving was most likely the person responsible for the drug trafficking at the resort. It turned out she was the manager of the resort for the seven previous years before Landon bought the place. She was quite a bit younger than the investor and it looked like she had romanced him so she could end up owning half of the property herself. She was always the one pressing them for all the details of the investigation. But most telling of all, she would receive shipments often in the middle of the night and instead of paying the distributers, her account balances would actually go up significantly the following day. On the nights before the two incidents where guests had ingested opium, Grace had received orders from a food distributer the night before. Since those occurrences, she started getting orders of fresh flowers two to three nights a week instead.

The team had the accounting ledgers for proof, thanks to Sylvester's hacking and sleuthing skills and they had Happy's security camera footage of the business center capturing all three of their suspects on the computers at the same times suspicious emails had been sent or read. And Paige had picked up that gossip at the spa about Grace always getting deliveries at night.

All the correspondence detailed the whens and wheres of the shipments and the amount to expect in a vague language designed to throw off suspicion. Plus, it was deleted immediately, but Walter was able to retrieve it from the hard drive. It appeared from the content of the emails the two employees involved would sort through the inventory, arrange for a pick up and send the product out via the river the next night. One of the new cameras recorded them helping to load product into a boat.

But so far, the only time they'd caught Grace on camera was in the business center. From what they could decipher, there was a shipment due in that night at midnight.

Knowing he would be blind-sided, Paige wanted to warn Landon, but Toby advised against it. He could tip off his wife and they wouldn't be able to catch her in the act. So, Walter alerted the local authorities and the waiting game began.

 **AN: I know I'm rushing the case, but I'm on count down to vacation and I really want to finish up and not leave anything hanging. Besides, Walter only took this case as a ruse to get Paige away from Tim anyway. If he doesn't really care about it, why should I? ;-D This chapter is from the ladies' POV this time, and I'm leaving both couples in a sorry state. The last chapter it will be the guys' turn, and hopefully I can bring it all around for everyone. Thanks for sticking with me! Please read and review. Your comments make my day!**


	10. Chapter 10

**SILENT PARTNERS**

 **Chapter 10**

In a single instant, Landon Irving's whole world fell to pieces. He was shattered when his wife was arrested that night. Paige sat next to the poor man on the front steps of his private residence for twenty minutes unable to offer much in the way of comfort. Even though Grace lied to him and betrayed him, he was determined to do everything possible to help her. That's the nature of love.

Feeling a little humbled, Paige made her way back to the villa. In the face of what Landon was dealing with, Walter's reticence didn't feel quite so significant or insurmountable any more. They needed to talk. Boy, did they need to talk. And she wasn't going to give up until she got the answers she needed. But after all they'd shared and everything he'd said during the previous two evenings, she didn't doubt his feelings any more. Nor did she deny or dismiss hers. She wanted Walter. She _loved_ Walter. And Paige knew they could be great together. He just had to get out of his own way. And she intended to help him whatever it took.

Walter was with the police turning over evidence and giving a statement, so Paige had the place to herself for a while. She slipped out the sliding door to the deck. The moonlight was shimmering on the surface of the water in cool, white ripples and the air was warm and balmy lifting wisps of her hair to tickle the nape of her neck. It reminded her of Walter's soft kiss below her ear and she shivered and wrapped her arms around herself wishing he was there to hold her. Hoping he would let himself again.

That's when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning toward the motion and squinting into the darkness, it took her a minute to distinguish Happy sitting by the inky, shadowed end of the pool. Wearing her signature black, she was as stealthy as a ninja.

"Happy, are you okay? Where have you been all day? We were worried. Did you know there have been arrests? The case is closed."

Ignoring the first two questions, Happy replied, "I saw it all on the security feed, so yeah. It's done. Good. We can all go home now." She squeezed her eyes shut for a second before focusing on Paige again.

"I don't know what to do," Happy blurted after a long pause.

Paige kicked off her shoes and made her way over to sit next to her teammate, dangling her bare feet in the water. "Do?"

After a quite a few more moments of silence, she answered, "This whole thing with Toby. I don't know how to be without him anymore, but I'm not sure I can be what he wants."

Paige snorted at that and Happy glared at her. "Think that's funny, do you?"

"Frankly, yes. You're already what he wants, what he loves. He's crazy about you. I don't see the problem."

"He wants me to tell him things. To share a part of my life I'm not comfortable thinking about, much less talking about. With anyone. It could totally change his opinion of me."

Paige dropped her head in her hands for a minute. "Do you and Walter have contests? Honestly, do you two compete to see who can be the most reserved? You could cook crystal meth in your bathtub and sell it to little old grandmothers in a nursing home, and I don't think it would change Toby's opinion of you."

Happy scoffed and bumped her shoulder against Paige's. "I think I'll try that."

"Seriously, Happy, what's worse? Talking to him? Or losing him? I know it's hard. But you trust him to keep your secrets, right?"

"Are you kidding? This is Toby we're talking about. You know he can't sit on a secret for five minutes. But the thought of losing him for good? I don't even want to consider that."

"You know, I sat beside Landon Irving for twenty minutes this evening while he sobbed for a woman who lied to him and used him. He wasn't angry. He was scared for her. Toby loves you like that. The question is, do you love him the same way? If you do, you have to talk to him. Love isn't only a feeling. The word is a verb too. It implies action. And that's more powerful. You want him? You have it in your power to keep him."

Happy jumped up and headed toward the door.

"Good talk," Paige said under her breath.

With one foot inside the door, Happy turned and said, "Hey, Paige? Walt's just scared, you know. It's an incalculable risk."

"I know, but he needs to decide if I'm worth the risk."

"He knows _you_ are. He's afraid _he_ won't be worth it." With those words, Happy disappeared through the villa and back out into the night.

XOXOXOXOXO

Toby felt wilted. And so stupid. And foolish. He spent over two hours combing the resort looking for Happy and asking around to see if anyone had seen her. Why the hell did he turn her down? Wasn't he the one who told her he would take her on any terms? He was a self-demolition expert.

The problem was, with Happy he wanted the whole enchilada. And the rice and beans. And probably a margarita too. Toby wanted the wedding, the house in the suburbs, pets with silly names and a couple of kids he could shower with the attention he'd craved when he was growing up. But none of that was possible if there was already a Mr. Happy Quinn out there somewhere.

Toby was glad this resort didn't have a casino or he would be sorely tempted to blow all his cash on long shots. Anything would feel better than this.

When he was unlocking his door, he noticed a light on in his room and his heart thumped uncontrollably. Was this his opportunity for a do-over or did housekeeping just leave his lights on?

Cautiously, Toby stepped into the room half expecting heavy objects to fly through the air toward his head. But what he saw was the love of his life sitting in the chair by the window with her knees drawn up to her chest.

Without preamble, she said, "It's Mark Collins." And she thrust her chin in the air daring him to react.

For a full two minutes, Toby had to suppress the urge to yell. Inside his head, 'WHAT?!' echoed over and over but he just barely managed to stop it from coming out of his mouth simultaneously.

"To answer your other questions, I think it's obvious he can kick your ass after he kidnapped you and nearly fried your larynx with acid. I married him because he's a master at manipulation and he convinced me it would be to our mutual monetary advantage. It wasn't. And that neither of us would ever want to get married for traditional reasons. He was wrong about that too. I didn't bring it up for the obvious reasons. And _hell no_ , I don't want to stay married to him."

Happy buried her face in her knees.

Toby was still reeling from the announcement, but he didn't fail to see how shaken Happy was. He rushed to her side and knelt in front of the chair.

"I'm glad you told me," He said, softly, "You haven't filed for divorce?"

She looked up and her eyelashes were spiky with unshed tears. Toby's heart twisted.

Happy sneered when she said, "Oh, I wish I'd thought of that. I've tried. Twice. California is a community property state. He hires an expensive attorney that bills me for half and says since Mark has been declared mentally incompetent, he can't make a rational decision about a legal procedure. If a divorce ever actually went through, his lawyer assures me he will ask for an exorbitant amount in alimony. Also a law in the state of California. I guess you gambled and lost when you bet on me, huh Doc?"

"No, Happy. This doesn't change how I feel about you or how glad I am to be with you. And the knowing is always better than the wondering. I still want the same things. We'll have to figure something out. Together. As long as we're together I'm okay." Toby cracked a goofy smile, "Besides, I kinda like the idea of you cheating on Mark with me…" Then he adopted a mock horrified look, "Wait. Did you and Collins ever…you know?"

"Ew! No! It was never like that. He called it a 'business transaction'."

Toby wiped fake sweat from his brow with a whistle while Happy rolled her eyes. Then her face adopted a serious look. "Listen, Toby. Paige said if I wanted to keep you, I needed to talk to you. Anyway, I'm not sure I've ever actually said this, but… I, um, do love you, okay?" Toby just stared at her speechless. "Wait. Are you crying right now? Is this you puddling up like a little baby? Don't make me take it back."

Compressing his lips and swallowing hard as he fought tears of relief and crazy, stupid sentiment, Toby said, his voice a little tight, "Well…you're my true north, you know. I have my compass right here. It's always pointing toward you. Wanna see?"

Happy slapped his shoulder and started giggling, welcoming his nonsensical euphemism with something very close to joy. "You're a dork! Just take me to bed."

He didn't turn her down this time. Or the next time. Or ever again.

 **AN: Well, I lied. I said this chapter was going to be from the men's POV, but there is a real shortage of Happy/Paige interaction and I wanted them to have some 'girl time' and help each other out before the men had their say.**

 **Also, I know Mark Collins has been done and I didn't mean to step on anyone else's stories. I did have him in mind all along, though. I thought about using Chet needing a green card, but that wasn't very dramatic or shocking. I think Happy would have owned up to Toby about that without too much drama.**

 **I also said this would be the final chapter. But I don't want to rush the Walter and Paige conclusion and I was really struggling with it. Unfortunately, I'm leaving on vacation for two weeks starting tomorrow (well the vacation isn't unfortunate, but my lack of writing...) and have TONS to do. Then when I get back, work will be insane for a while. Forgive me, but it might be close to three weeks before we get the conclusion to Walter and Paige's story. Don't hurt me. I may try to work on it a bit while I'm gone, but I'm not sure I'll even have internet access and I'm really going to try to unplug and get out of my head for a few days at least.**

 **That being said, I hope you enjoy the Quintis conclusion. And as always, please read and review. I'm really just floored by everyone's comments on this story. They keep me at my keyboard.**


	11. Chapter 11

**SILENT PARTNERS**

 **CHAPTER 11**

 **AN: Still on vacation, but I had this chapter mostly written so I decided to post it. All the editing I've done was using a kindle when I had a few minutes and internet access. Please forgive any grammatical or spelling errors as a result.**

 **Also this chapter is cautiously rated M. I'm not comfortable writing full frontal smut (although I do enjoy reading it on occasion lol), but this is as close as I've ever gotten. The rest I'll leave to your imagination. There will be one more chapter and it might have a bit more smutty fluff (smuff?) if it works in the story. Walter and Paige wanted to fool around more than I originally intended in this chapter, so I'll have to conclude in the next chapter.**

Walter found Paige sitting by the pool bathed in moonlight, swinging one foot lazily in the water. His chest ached at the sight. He'd never wanted anything as much as he wanted her and he was terrified. What if he took the chance and he chased her away with his inability to adequately convey everything she meant to him? He leaned a shoulder on the doorframe and just drank in the sight of her.

When he'd woken up in her arms that morning, Walter felt a euphoria unlike anything he'd ever experienced. Until his mind whirred into action and planted a little niggling doubt that Paige could just be pretending for the sake of the mission. He was bad at reading emotions in others, after all. Then logic jumped in and told him they never actually discussed anything with each other or the therapist or about their 'homework' or anything else the whole time they were in Bali, without the guise of their fake marriage in place.

And on the tail of those thoughts, he'd recalled the chapters in 'The ABCs of Lasting Love' on tenderness and keeping romance alive and effective communication. He didn't know how to be tender, he found communication arduous and Toby told him all the time how unromantic he was. Even Paige said it herself on a few occasions. Walter didn't know if he would ever be able to learn those things even _with_ an instruction manual. He would rather have her in his life as just a coworker and friend than disappoint her and have her look at him with contempt…and leave him.

So he did the thing he always did. Distanced himself. Focused on something else.

But he was very much afraid they had taken things too far to go back now. You can't unring a bell after all. Indecision gripped him as he stood there contemplating the one woman he'd ever loved this way.

Without turning to look at him, Paige said, "Are you just going to stand in the doorway? Or do you want to join me?"

After a slight pause, Walter pushed away from the door and began to walk toward her. The only sound was the rustle of a breeze through the palm trees and his light footfalls.

He couldn't think of anything to say. So he just sat down beside her, muted by his uncertainty. He wished she would say something to alleviate the hollowness inside him and he silently begged her to give him the reassurance he didn't know how to ask for.

As usual, Paige didn't disappoint. "Walter, I'm not going anywhere, you know. I have no idea why you felt the need to push me away this time or any other time for that matter. I will tell you I need you to stop doing that every time we get close. I know you're scared. I am too. But I'm ready to risk it. Are you?"

"So-so everything you said wasn't just for this case? It was real?"

"It was for me. All of it."

Walter shuddered on a sigh of relief. "Me too," he admitted.

"So are you going to tell me? Why the distance, Walter?" Paige said, her head tipped to the side so she could look at him.

"Uh, I think we should do the last homework assignment," he blurted, dodging the question.

"What? It's torn up in the bottom of a trash can inside. I thought you refused to do this one."

"I've, uh, changed my mind. I remember what it said verbatim."

Amused, Paige chuckled. "Why am I not surprised? Well, tell me what the instructions said."

"I-I want to do this one as you and me. Not as a fake married couple. Or because our therapist might ask us about it and we don't want to blow our cover."

"Alright. Deal. Now, you want to tell me what it is?"

Walter's pulse ratcheted up and he was a little breathless as he explained, "This one is all about sharing secrets."

Paige nodded. "Go on."

He swallowed and looked at his hands in his lap. "We-we have to draw a-a warm bubble bath. In-in the tub, uh, with…um, together."

"Oh. Is that so?" Paige's eyes grew wide, but she had a naughty little smile playing at her lips that nearly stopped his heart.

"We take turns asking each other three questions. For each honest answer," Walter paused to swallow, then he finished in a rush, "the-the other person has to, um, offer a reward."

"I see. And you want to do this with me?"

Walter could only nod emphatically.

"And will you still be speaking to me, will you stay open with me tomorrow even if you're uncomfortable?"

He couldn't say no. He was so tired of running away. "I think I'm ready to give staying a try."

Paige got up and held out her hand. Walter took it and stood up beside her. Together, they went inside.

It didn't take long for the air in the bathroom to grow sultry as the Jacuzzi bath began to fill. Paige lighted the candles around the rim and added the bubbles. A heady, spicy fragrance filled the air. Walter watched Paige with equal parts trepidation and anticipation.

When she was finished with the preparations, and as the water continued to gush out of the spout, she asked, "How do you want to do this? We are going to wear our swimsuits, right? At least at first?"

Walter's jaw dropped as visions of naked Paige surrounded by a cloud of bubbles, his hands stroking her slippery curves tantalized his mind's eye. "Whatever you want," he squeaked.

"It would probably be easier to start out that way," she said as she began to unknot the sarong at her waist. Walter could only stare, his body already reacting to that one simple action and her unspoken assumption of the removal of her swimsuit later.

She took off her lacy button down shirt next and slid into the tub one long, smooth leg at a time, finally resting her back in one of the deep curves of the heart-shaped stone, the water and suds already lapping at her torso. She closed her eyes and made a soft blissful sound that shot straight through him.

"Are you getting in or not, Walter?"

With lighting speed, his eyes never leaving her body, he toed off his shoes, yanked off his socks and shucked his trousers. His shirt was the next to go, a few buttons popping off with his haste to remove it. This left him in nothing but a pair of dark blue boxer briefs. He all but jumped in the bath next to Paige, causing the water to slosh up on her side.

Paige giggled as much with nerves as mirth. "Should we start with the breathing exercise first?"

Walter shook his head.

"O-kay. Right to it, huh? Who goes first this time."

"I'll go," he said, staring at her soapy leg as she used her now scarlet tipped toes to turn off the faucet. "Do you have feelings for or do you still want to be with Tim?"

"Oh, um, I like Tim. He's a nice man and he treats me with respect. I had fun with him. But I'm really not interested in him in a romantic sense. I tried to be. It just wasn't there for me."

Walter shut his eyes, his relief palpable. "Glad to hear that. What re-reward would you like?"

After only a slight hesitation, Paige asked, "Kiss me?"

"Any time you want." Walter smiled and swallowed her surprised gasp when he pulled her over to him and planted a kiss square on her lips. The kiss started off sweet and coaxing, but it quickly escalated into hot and hungry. His fingers digging into her hips. Hers raking over his bare chest.

Walter groaned in protest when Paige pulled away panting. "My turn?"

She turned and leaned the back of one shoulder against his chest nestling her head between his neck and shoulder. Unable to resist, Walter pressed his lips to her moist neck and just breathed her in. "Why do you always distance yourself after we get close?"

Frowning and wiping a wet hand down his face, he fought his natural tendency to shut down. "I, uh, my-my mind kicks into high gear after..."

"Take your time, Walter. It's okay."

"When I get close to you..Afterwards, I feel...something similar to panic, I guess. I think of the probability I will ruin it. Destroy what we already have. I don't want to risk losing what we are, because I need it... _you_ so much. The thought of me without you? Before you? No. I can't risk that. Am I making sense? I have trouble articulating things like this."

Paige nuzzled his cheek. "Perfect sense. Now, what reward would you like?"

The words "Take off your top" flew out if Walter's mouth before he could stop them. He flushed and looked at her from the corner of one eye. Would she be mad? Insulted? Paige looked bemused but not angry. He nearly passed out when she leaned forward to untie the strings at her back.

He couldn't count all the times he'd imagined her topless. And suddenly there she was making one of his long standing fantasies a reality! He was riveted.

Paige turned her back toward Walter and tossed the top of her bathing suit over the lip of the tub. It landed with a wet plop on the marble tile. Walter's mouth went dry as she slowly turned to face him again.

And there they were. Round and soft and tempting. Walter stared unblinking and speechless. Somewhere in his encyclopedic brain, he knew breasts were less dense and therefore buoyant. But, holy hell! Paige's perfect pair were flirting with him, floating and swaying, inviting him to touch and taste, peeping through the bubbles shyly giving him glimpses of heaven on Earth.

Walter barely registered it when Paige uttered something indistinguishable past the blood rushing in his ears, but she was looking at him expectantly. He shook his head and pried his eyes away from where they insisted on focusing to meet her gaze. "Hmmm?" He asked.

"Your turn to ask a question, Walter," she repeated, biting back a knowing smile.

His voice came out a husky croak when he answered, "Oh, um...h-have you ever wondered, that is...do you ever think about being with-with me physically?"

Paige's smile turned slightly abashed and she huffed out a little laugh before answering, "Oh, I... For almost the whole two years I've known you, off and on. I tried to stop having those thoughts when you started dating other women and when I tried dating Tim, but they would sneak their way in occasionally. But once you put this ring on my hand and we landed on the island, they've kinda been... non-stop."

Inordinately pleased with that information, Walter grinned. "And your reward for your honesty?"

Her eyelashes swept down with her gaze and she said, "Touch me."

"R-really. May I?"

Paige nodded. Walter gulped and taking Paige by the waist, he guided her around and onto his lap until she faced him with her legs around him. Slowly he slid his hands up her sides until his thumbs brushed the outside of her bared breasts. His fingertips teased the generous curves as his palms hovered barely touching their soft weight. Paige moaned and arched into him, her head falling back and her eyes fluttering shut, as he cupped them and gently squeezed, grazing the tips with his thumbs.

She breathed his name on a broken sigh and it was the most erotic thing he'd ever heard. Paige watched him touching her, her eyes heavy-lidded. They were both breathing hard when they started kissing, long and deep kisses, breaking away only to draw in gulps of air. Soon Paige's hands were as busy as his. Walter was almost incoherent with need, lost in a haze of desire as they caressed each other.

Paige leaned back slightly and murmured in his ear,"Wait. Wait, Walter."

Nearly mindless with arousal, he kept kissing and fondling anything within reach until she took his hands in hers.

"No," he pleaded almost whining, "I want you so much. Please?" Walter said, his voice rough with frustrated longing.

"I want you too. So much. I do. But I have one more question for you."

 **Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed. Your feedback is so encouraging! I'm behind on reviews myself and have only had a chance to read and review a few stories while I'm away. I hope to catch up soon.**


	12. Chapter 12

**SILENT PARTNERS**

 **Chapter 12**

After a few minutes spent obviously battling for control, Walter disentangled himself from Paige and pushed up to sit on the side of the bathtub dangling his lower legs in the warm, soapy water next to her. Water and stray bubbles formed rivulets tracing the planes of his body following the same pathways her hands had been exploring moments before.

Paige had to tamp down a sharp surge of panic. What was she thinking?! She'd dreamed of getting this close to Walter for what felt like forever and yet she'd called a halt to things just when they were getting good and intense. But she wanted no regrets to mar the experience and she still needed some answers.

Feeling rather exposed without the top of her swimsuit now that he wasn't holding her, she rested her folded arms on the edge of the tub beside his legs and she leaned her chest against the curved marble side.

"I'm sorry, Walter. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, and I wasn't trying to push you away," Paige said uncertainly.

Walter grabbed a towel and wiped the moisture from his face and chest before leaving it in a heap in his lap. He shook his head causing droplets of water to run down his neck from his damp hair which was made even curlier by the humidity and Paige's playful fingers. Following the drops with her eyes, she longed to be catching them with her tongue.

"I'm not…uncomfortable. At least not in the way I think you mean." He flashed her a wry smile. "It's just…if we are going to finish with the questions, and you want me to remain coherent enough to answer, I need a little distance. And maybe we should hold all the, uh, rewards until the end of the exercise? I find them somewhat…distracting."

Paige grinned at his words, partly from relief and partly from pride in the fact she could fluster the genius just as much as he affected her. Unable to resist, she briefly pressed her cheek to the side of his knee, needing to reestablish contact with him. After an instant's hesitation, Walter brushed his fingers over her bare shoulder then let them rest against her neck.

Paige looked up at him, loving the blatant admiration in his expression. "Are you ready?"

At his nod, she asked, "What was the real reason you took this case, Walter? You promised to tell me eventually."

His eyes dropped to the towel in his lap and he cleared his throat and grimaced. "I, uh, didn't like the idea of you going to Tahoe with-with, uh, Tim. It was the only credible excuse I could fabricate at the time to bring about the desired outcome."

Paige's eyes narrowed and her tone was incredulous when she said, "What?! You're the one who suggested I ask Tim to go in the first place. And I even asked you at the last minute if you thought I should stay, and you encouraged me to go."

"I-I came to regret my actions."

"But why?"

He sat frowning, compressing his lips together as if locking the words inside. "That's actually two questions. It's my turn now," he finally answered a bit grudgingly.

Paige gave Walter a sidelong glance, trying not to smile at how adorably pouty he suddenly appeared. "You know I'm going to circle back to that when it's my turn again, right?"

"I guess that's fair. But there's something I want to know first before I answer that particular question."

Turning her face into his hand, Paige pressed her lips to his palm. "That was a bonus reward. Now go ahead. Ask me anything."

Walter sat in silence for long minutes, rubbing the back of his neck, looking distressed. He pulled his hands into his lap and knotted them into fists. Several times he would draw in a breath as if he was going to say something, but on every exhale he fell quiet again, focusing anywhere but on Paige.

She could see him struggling, but she was determined to give him time to collect his thoughts and form them into words. He would always require patience, and she was doing her best to give him all he needed.

Just when she thought she might have to intervene and say something, he managed to mumble toward his clenched fists, "One of the main reasons I, uh, dated Linda was for a trial run, an experiment of sorts to see if I could sustain a relationship with a normal woman in a safe environment where I wasn't risking anything too important if I failed. Which I did. So, I need to ask…Knowing my, uh, difficulties…with emotions a-and relationships…even witnessing them for yourself…Would you ever consider, I mean, could you see yourself with someone like, uh, me…for an extended period of time? If-if I was committed to improving? If you could tell I was trying to be more human? Knowing I might never be…easy?"

Paige's heart wrenched because Walter looked like he was bracing for a blow. His eyes were shut tight and he was biting his lower lip.

Her immediate response was, "Yes, of course."

Walter's eyes flew open and darted to her face. "Really? Why?" He blurted, looking astonished. "Why would you ever pick someone like me when someone like Tim is a much more logical, less risky choice?"

"That's actually a second question, you know." She smiled, gently teasing him. "But I'll answer it anyway. First of all, no relationship is ever _easy_. They all take lots of work. Both parties have to be committed to improving all the time. I'm certainly not flawless. You tend to believe I have all the answers when it comes to relating to people. I don't want you to think I'm perfect in that or in any other way. Because when I fall off the pedestal you put me on, you will be doubly disappointed. I will certainly let you down at times, just like you will let me down. That's what humans inevitably do. That's why we'd have to strive to improve together."

"Also, I want you to consider how alike you and Ralph are. My relationship with my son hasn't been easy either, but I would never trade him for a 'normal' child. I love him and respect him for who and what he is. I consider him to be worth the effort. You are too."

"And finally, the reason I don't make the 'logical' decision to be with Tim? Love is not logical. I'm simply not in love with him."

Walter's brow furrowed in concentration, as if he was trying to absorb her words. Then a shaky little smile lifted the corners of his lips and his eyes filled with cautious hope. He swallowed hard a couple of times before he was able to ask, "And, uh, your last question?"

"Tell me why. Why did you regret encouraging me to go to Tahoe with Tim?"

Reaching down and lifting Paige's chin so she was looking him square in the eyes, he said steadily, "Because I realized I love you."

Her mouth dropped open in stunned surprise and her eyes filled. "What?" She whispered.

"I love you, Paige."

She hoisted herself up and out of the bathtub causing a miniature tsunami in her haste to get to him. Paige launched herself at Walter and kissed him hard on the mouth no longer caring that she was more than half naked. She also didn't care that she made a small lake on the bathroom floor or that she saturated their scattered clothing as well as the towel in his lap. Walter didn't seem to care much either, as he caught her and kissed her right back.

There was only one reward that either one wanted now, so they left their remaining clothing in a sodden heap on the marble tile and made their way toward the bedroom, stopping to fondle and grope and kiss frantically every few steps.

Falling in a jumble of arms and legs on that spectacular bed, they proceeded to ravish one another totally, relentlessly driving each other to completion. That first time was hurried and almost savage and fierce, the release of all the months of pent up hunger exploding all at once. All the walls of resistance and denial and waiting and fumbling and frustration crashed down in a cataclysmic culmination of love and lust.

In the aftermath, Walter slid almost bonelessly to her side; resting his head on Paige's bosom and dozing in outright satiation. She watched him sleep; partly in awe of the magnitude of what he'd said and what they'd done and also a little afraid he would disappear inside himself again if she gave in and slept too.

XOXOXOXOXO

Fighting the most pleasant lethargy, Walter blinked hard a few times before focusing on the amazing woman underneath him. She was awake and was studying him with a look he couldn't define on her face.

"Hey," he said, his voice sounding gruff and hoarse from the harsh breathing and the guttural noises he made during their previous activities. "Are you okay?"

Paige nodded, turning her head to the side.

"Was I asleep long?"

"No," she murmured, "Not really."

When she didn't elaborate or look at him directly for a few minutes, he began to grow concerned. "Are you sure you're alright? Did I do something wrong? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Paige turned to him then and gave him a sleepy smile. "No. It's nothing like that. I'm just really tired."

"Then why don't you sleep? We should probably get under the covers, right? Are you cold? Is that it?" Walter busied himself scooting toward the head of the bed and peeling the blanket and sheet down.

Paige did slip under the covers facing him, but she confessed quietly, "I'm actually kind of scared. I know that sounds silly."

Walter brushed her tousled hair out of her eyes, so he could see her expression better. "Why?"

"Well, we got much closer than we've ever been." Walter quirked an eyebrow and shot her a crooked smile. She jokingly smacked his shoulder. " _Emotionally_ as well as physically. I'm just afraid you are going to back away from me again. Please just promise me if your over-active brain kicks into high gear, you will talk to me _before_ you start to withdraw this time. Please?"

Walter's expression turned serious. "Paige, I'm not going to disappear. There's nothing else for me to hide anymore, so there's no more excuses for me to back away. I don't think it's possible to go back to being just friends and colleagues again. I believe that ship has sailed. But if it will make you feel better, I promise."

He saw her visibly relax at his assurance and he was reminded again of how much impact all the words between them had made in the last few days. "I'm just beginning to understand the necessity for honest communication, so I may need you to remind me from time to time. I believe the homework assignments have been an effective tool to help us open up. We should consider setting aside a prescribed amount of time to do them each week to elucidate our feelings and improve our connection as a couple."

Paige's smile turned mischievous. "I think you're just after more rewards."

Walter emitted a low chuckle. "I have to admit, they are quite the motivating factor. In fact, I think I would enjoy another reward very soon. Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

Paige pushed Walter over onto his back and rolled on top of him, grinning flirtatiously. "Actually, there is something I'd like to know. Did you have a plan to get me into bed on this trip?"

"No. Not exactly."

"Then where did you get that stash of condoms?"

 **AN: That's all folks! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I am just humbled by your response to this story. I hope you loved reading it as much as I loved writing it. Please let me know your thoughts on this final chapter too. Remember, writers are fragile beasts who need your feedback and encouragement. So, if you like a story, make sure you tell the author.**


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